Life As A Sparrow
by Kakashi Kat
Summary: His father left him, his mother left him, now all he has is himself. If you thought Jack had it hard before, then wait until you see his early years in life. Rated T for violence, perilous scenes, and graphic descriptions.
1. Slipped Away

* * *

-)(-

**

* * *

****Pirates of the Caribbean:**

**LIFE AS A SPARROW**

BY Marlonian Hayes

Chapter 1: Slipped Away

Silver droplets panged against the foggy window. Dark, grey clouds had engulfed the entire town. Boats rocked back and forth on the high waves, their lines tugging at the wooden post that kept them in the harbor.

A small house lay three blocks from the shore, and it had a thatched roof and dark wooden walls. Two windows peered out the front; while there was one on the right side, and three in the back. To the left, another house pressed itself against it.

In one of the front windows, there appeared a small fist. Its fingers pressed against the glass, and began to make a spot for a young face to peer out of.

Two dark eyes, encircled by locks of black hair, stared out into the misty streets. A red cloth, obviously too large for the young boy, was wrapped around his head and tied in the back. A smile was upon his soft features, and a glint of wonder shone in his eyes.

The clear spot in the window grew bigger, as a larger, delicate hand smeared some of the fog away. Two arms wrapped themselves around the waist of the boy, and a head with flowing brown hair kissed him on the cheek. This was his mother. The youngster simply looked up and smiled.

His soft child voice spoke to the young woman. "Mother, do you think father will return today? He promised me, you know?" With a sigh, Angela pulled her son closer to her body. Her eyes were a deep green, and her cheeks a rosy red. Angela had high cheek bones, and thin eyebrows.

She stared at her boy, and then looked out into the town. "I don't know Jack. Maybe not today, for the weather is bad." She pulled back some of the brown locks, and kissed Jack on the forehead. The boy did not look up this time. His eyes concentrated on the shore, and looked out to sea.

With a sigh, Angela moved away from her child. She sat in a small rocker by the fire. Picking up a basket, she began to sew the pants that her son had ripped. This had become her way of passing the time. It had been two weeks since her husband had left for Port Royal. The day was cold, the sea calm, but her heart was restless. Early morning light came rushing in _the_ _windows_ _and her face was warmed._

_Suddenly the woman's eyes fluttered open. Something was not right. Quickly pulling on a simple dress, and a shawl, Angela rushed out of her room. Luckily, she was out in time to see the man begin to walk down the street and towards the harbor. _

_Forgetting shoes, forgetting her son, forgetting the rest of the world, she chased after him. His boots clanked against the hard stone in the streets, as her soft feet thudded. The brown tangles of her hair swung from side to side. _

_He was already on the plank that lead to the ship, when her feet hit sand. "James!" Angela screamed with all of her might. Seeming not to hear her, the man kept on walking across the plank. Again she screamed his name, fear and anger was plainly heard in the young woman's voice. _

_This time, James did stop. Turning around, his deep brown eyes stared at his wife. Now she had reached the end of the plank, and paused to look up at him, her breath was heavy and quick. _

_Sand skidded down from where she had stopped, and into the turning water. Before her was the man she loved, the father of her child. In a hurt and confused voice, she asked him, "What are you doing?" _

_James averted his gaze at first. A sigh came from the young man as his eyes gazed over the vast ocean scenery. Small waves tumbled and turned on shore, and before him was a golden plain of water as the sun rose into the sky. Again, the woman asked, only in a more threatening tone. _

"_What are you doing?"_

_The young man had hair much like his son's, brown locks creating a perfect frame around his face. Deep brown pools looked into those of his wife's own jade ones. His features were rough, and yet smooth at the same time. A small beard shadowed his chin, with a thin mustache above his lips. The man's nose came to a point, his chin was square, and his eyebrows neatly streamed above his head. With broad shoulders, the man was nearly 6' 3". _

_He was put under much pressure to answer, for Angela's gaze was fierce and dared him to say he was departing. Finally, James turned to the young woman, and his voice was gruff compared to her angelic one. "I'm sorry, I have to go," a British accent heavily clung to each word, "I cannot take this life anymore."_

"_But you have good life!" Angela's eyes turned from anger to a pleading stare. Unshed tears brimmed behind her eyes, and she took a step closer to him, and found her feet touching wood. "Why leave? You live in a small town, surrounded by people who love you. Every night after a day's worth of work, you come home to good family, and a son who loves you more than anything! Not only that, but at least you can say you own your own house. Now, what is wrong with living peacefully?"_

"_Everything!" James dropped his pack onto the plank and walked quickly up to the woman. Taking her by the shoulders, he spoke in a soft voice now. "Everything is wrong about it. Can you not see, I want excitement. Life is too short to spend it making horseshoes and plows!"_

"_What about us!" Now the tears came willingly, and streamed down her cheeks to make small dots on the sand. _

_Taking the crying woman into a tight embrace, the man spoke soft words into her ear. "There will be no us if I stay here. I have to go-"_

"_If not for me, stay for Jack." The last words came out of her trembling mouth as an almost sob. That was the reason she had chased after him, for her son. He needed a father, and a friend. With James gone, that meant she would have to work all day and not be there for her son. Sure, there were other boys in the town, but none of them understood Jack. A small smile came to her face as remembered how the boys always played Pirates and Officers. Jack was always the first to volunteer to be a Pirate. In fact, he had asked her to call him Captain Jack Sparrow in front of the other children. _

"_What about Jack?" James' voice snapped Angela back from her reminiscing. The question he had presented confused the woman, and before she could answer, he spoke. "He has you, that is what he needs. Besides, I'm no good as a father. No, Jack does not need me, but you do."_

_Now anger boiled inside the woman. 'How can he just leave his own son behind?! That- that… Oh, I can't even think it is so horrible!' "You think I am asking you to stay for me?! Oh! Oh! I cannot believe I ever married such a man. Do you care nothing for that small boy at home? He looks up to you. Today is his seventh birthday; how do you think he will feel each year after this to know that his father left on this day? Do you ever think of anyone beside yourself! Maybe it is best if you go. Leave, I never want to see you again." She spat the last words, and her brow furrowed at the man. Rage and untamed anger flashed behind her eyes. It was all the woman could do to keep from striking the man. _

'_What the Hell,' SLAP! With that last gesture, Angela lifted her feet and raced off down the streets, leaving a confused man, holding his cheek as it turned bright red. _

_As the young woman ran back to her home, tears came even more, followed by sobs. Pausing for a moment in the street, she held her head in her hands, and fell to her knees crying. Someone ran past her and around the corner, but she did not see them, nor did she care. Right now, she was too engulfed in the grief and guilt about the leaving of her husband. Then the rain started, droplets falling onto her, soaking her already cold body. _

_They pattered against roofs, and made pu_ddles on the ground. Horses raced by and carriage wheels sprayed water. Now, little tears would fall for the lost man. Her heart still ached, and the only thing that brought joy into her heart, was the small boy sitting before the window.

* * *

-)(-

* * *

_A/N: Hello, I would just like to say that this is my first PotC fanfic. So, if you have anything (**Anything**) to say, it would be greatly appreciated. If, you did not like the chapter, do not worry, it will focus more on Young Jack in the next one. Please review, I do not mind short reveiws, but I would like to hear just what you think._

_Hope all who read this will enjoy it._

_Marlo_


	2. Fire In the Night

**

* * *

**

-)(-

**

* * *

**

**Pirates of the Caribbean:**

**LIFE AS A SPARROW**

BY Marlonian Hayes

**Chapter 2: Fire In the Night**

Five years later…

He laid on his bed staring at the wooden beams above him. Outside, the sky was dark, and the sea darker. Stars stretched across the heavens, and the moon shone down on the ever turning waters. Living close so close to the shore was a peaceful life. Every night he went to sleep with the sound of waves rolling onto the sand, washing in his ears.

Yet now, no sleep would come to him. Five years ago his father had left him, four years ago he gave up waiting for him to return. It saddened the boy to remember his mother's grief that day, and the final words his father and him had before parting. Now, when his day of birth was once again coming, the voice of James Sparrow echoed in his head.

_Morning always brought a smile to the young boy's face. The sun rising, the birds singing, all of it signaled a new day, and new possibilities. Sitting up, Jack rubbed his eyes, and ran stiff fingers through unruly hair. A white nightshirt, too big for him, hung loosely off his shoulders. Sniffing, and scrunching his nose, the seven year old boy finally swung his legs over the side of the bed and touched the cold wooden floor. _

_Quickly he pulled on a pair of brown pants, and tied his red scarf across his forehead. Normally, Jack would not be up this early, nor would he dress himself so hurriedly. However, this was a special occasion, for it was after all, his seventh birthday. For weeks he had anticipated for this day. His father had promised to take the young boy sailing that afternoon on one of the trade boats. Placing a wide smile on his face, Jack headed for the door. _

_It was then that he heard something unusual. Not even his parents were up this early, and yet there was someone shuffling around in the room on the other side. Curious, the young boy twisted the handle and peeked through a small slit. _

_Between the door and the frame, he could see a tall figure filling a bag with several items. At first fear came to Jack, for he thought it a thief; it was not until he saw that it was the pack he had made for his father one year, did he relax. "Must be preparing for our little trip on the boat." Jack whispered to himself. Smiling, he began to push the door open a little more. He only stopped when he saw his father pick up the loaded pack and head out the door. It was a moment later that his mother raced into the room and looked around frantically. Not seeing his door open, the young woman raced out the door at spotting the man walking down the street. _

_Fearing that his parents were leaving him, and going somewhere, young Jack fully pushed the door open and sped out the door. Afraid of getting in trouble, he did not call out to his mother. _

_The young woman rounded a corner and headed for the docks. The young boy was about to follow here, when he heard her scream his father's name. "James!" Not wanting to get caught, Jack hid behind a crate in the street above the docks. Unfortunately, the item only hid him from their sight, but from their words. _

_Tears poured down his cheeks as he heard the two adults arguing. 'Why does father not want to stay?' Questions raced through his mind, questions that could only be answered by the departing man. Finally, the arguing ceased, but for a moment. Then all other speech was blocked out after he heard, "No, Jack does not need me-" It was his father who spoke, and the words frightened him. They were a gurantee of his departure. _

_Only a moment passed before the boy saw his mother race around the corner. Tears spilled down her cheeks. The young woman stopped abruptly, and fell to her knees. With her head in her hands, she began to cry harder than the boy had seen anyone cry before. _

_Not thinking, and not wanting to think, Jack lurched forward from his shadowed hiding place, and ran past the woman. _

_It was not long before his feet hit sand, and his dark eyes spotted his father upon the deck of a ship. The young man was leaning against the rail, and had his back faced to the town. Shouting as loud as he could, Jack ran towards the water, and soon touched the wet sand by the water. "Daddy! Daddy!" the man at first did not seem to notice his cries. _

_Finally, James Sparrow turned around to see who was calling him. His eyes widened with horror when he saw his son waste deep in the salty water. Jack's small body seemed to be struggling against the strong under current. "Jack! What are you doing!" At his yelling, several of the crew came a little closer to James' position and took a look out. They gasped when they saw such a young child testing the raging sea. _

"_Wait daddy! I am coming with you." Another wave of horror struck the man, and his gut tightened into a knot. If the child were to drown, it would be his fault. 'Angela would never forgive me.' _

_Almost screaming, James shouted back to his son, "No! You can't!"_

"_But you won't come back."_

"_What?" the man had spoken to himself, and then realized that Jack would not stop coming until he gave him reassurance, or until the boat was out of sight. Since the second chance was impossible because of how tall flat the ocean was, he decided to coax the boy back to shore. "Jack! Jack turn back. I promise, I will come home someday soon. I promise!"_

"_Really?!" now the water was at mid torso and swirling fast around the boy. More than once he stumbled and nearly caught his balance before falling into the restless waters. _

"_Yes, yes. I will return. Now back to your mother!" James watched with relief as the boy nodded with a blank expression, then began to trudge back to shore. His feet hit soft sand, and then solid ground. Sitting on the beach, Jack looked back towards the water. That was when the rain started. He must have sat their for hours before his mother found him. _

"You promised," Jack scowled at the ceiling, and then drifted into a sleep. His dreams were filled with angry images of his father, and his mother. Always, his mother cried with pain as his father again, and again beat her. Rage would build up in Jack until he lashed out at his father with all his strength. Every dream ended the same. His mother dead from the beating, his father dead from the blood on his hands, and Jack stood alone in a room that was slowly filling with water.

---

Morning came, and Jack no longer awoke with a smile. Instead he would glare at the door, and curse his father for never coming through it. Now, his nightshirt was just the right fit, and tight at the shoulders. His black hair was longer, and always tied back in a ponytail. The red scarf he got for his fifth birthday, found itself around his head constantly. Over the years it had gathered small trinkets to it; mostly including beads and coins. Sighing, he swung his legs onto the floor, and began to get dressed.

Ever since he gave up hope on his father ever returning, Jack had began to change. No longer was he the once cheery boy that his mother remembered, but instead a delinquent, that the townspeople constantly had complaints about. The first incident was his playing with the other boys. They would ask him to play only on rare occasions, because they knew his dad had left him. Because of this, he was named the son of a pirate. Still, this did not effect him much, for he would only chant back at them, "Well, if my father's a pirate, than I will be one some day. From now on, you will **_only_** call me Captain Jack Sparrow!"

One time, a boy took this a little too far. At nine years old, an older, bigger boy had called him Jack chicken; to insult the child more, he said the title 'Captain' did not belong to such a scoundrel. Growing angry at the boy's teasing, Jack remembered something his father had told him. "Always stick up for yourself." Constantly he would remind himself of this, and took the meaning a little too literal.

As the other boys were laughing at the jokes, some of them he considered friends, young Jack furrowed his brow, and launched himself at the larger boy. Immediately the effect of his sudden attack showed. Surprise was at Jack's advantage, and he quickly defeated the other boy with two blows to the chest, and one to the head. While the older child was rolling on the ground in pain, four of his friends jumped Jack.

Fighting fair would not work for him, so when they lifted him off the ground, he disposed of them by kicking them where it hurt. Yet still, two of the boys stood and took hold of Jack's arms. Now the first boy to be hit stood barely to his feet. Wiping away the mud on his hands, he curled up a fist, and Jack was soon bending over on the ground. His arms wrapped around his stomach, and blood dripped from his nose after the older boy kicked him. The five of them laughed again and walked away.

That was the first time Jack ever had physically hurt someone, and even though he thought otherwise, he done more damage to the boys that he knew. From then on, all of the children avoided speaking with Jack, soon making him a solitary boy. Since his mother was working all day, she could not be there to help her son. It no longer became a surprise when Jack would come home with bruises and a cut lip.

At the age of ten was when he first stole from someone. His mother was out working again, and all their food was gone. Feeling that there was nothing he good do for something to eat for lunch, Jack fell into his mother's rocking chair and thought. Finally, it struck him that one of the boys' father owned a bakery. Before he had beaten on the older boy, the baker's son had told him that their family never locked the door and his father always went fishing at the beginning of the month.

It was the first week in June, which meant the family would be gone. A sly smile came across Jack's face as he slunk out the back door. Fortunately, Jack did not have to be too secretive, even though he still was just to make sure, because there was a thick fog in the air. One could hardly see three inches in front of their face.

Nevertheless, the boy made it to his destination. What the baker's boy had said was true, for the back door simply creaked open. No one was inside, not a single sound was made, except for the slight thud of Jack's booted feet. Thinking better than to take a chance, the boy took of his boots and walked solely on his socks.

Sneaking to the counters, Jack took all different sweets. Finding clothes, he placed the sweets inside them, and then slipped them into his boots. It was not until each boot was filled with cupcakes, muffins, a piece of cake on top of each pile, sweets, and a jar of jelly filling, did he stop and leave.

Jack made it home, and stashed the stolen food under his bed. The choice was a bad one, but he saw it necessary. For two weeks after that, all his mother was able to buy was bread and cheese. Jack would only eat half of his meal each night, and give it to his mother. Being concerned for her child, Angela always held onto it until she was one-hundred percent sure he full. After dinner, and for most of the day, Jack would always go into his room, and this only made Angela wonder even more.

Now, at the age of twelve, he had stolen more times than he could count. Whenever anything went missing, people would storm to Angela's house and ask to see her son. Jack would slip out the back door, and run towards the shore. When the townspeople would find him, and question him of the missing item, he would pretend to have never heard of it, and proclaim he had an alibi. It was always, that he was in his room.

"I don't believe him!" The accuser would always say, and yet there would be no evidence of his departure. No one had ever seen Jack leave the house during the certain hours that the item was stolen. When in fact, he would leap out of his bedroom window, and hide in the garden until he crawled to the back of the house and disappeared behind the houses.

Every thievery Jack regretted.

Finally the preteen pulled over his black shirt. There was a V shaped collar, and the sleeves hung loosely on his arms to button up at the end. A pair of brown pants, with rims turned up halfway to his knee, and a pair of fading black boots, covered his lower half. Sighing, Jack rubbed his face with one hand. Each morning, he found it even more difficult to wake up.

As his large, smooth hand slid down his face, it stopped and rubbed his chin. The stubbles of a beard found their way across his lower jaw. Smiling at the new discovery, Jack moved out of his room and into the kitchen.

---

With a sigh, Angela sat back down in her chair at the table. The last few months had been harder than ever for her. The food supply was low, and her employer was lowering her wage even lower each year. Soon, the young woman would be working for pennies. One thing was a blessing though, Jack was old enough to have a job.

In fact, he already did. The man who owned the docks had been a personal friend of James Sparrow, and gladly accepted Jack as one of his employees. Angela's son spent most of his time loading crates onto ships, and taking inventory. The extra job brought in extra money, and finally things were beginning to look up. Another benefit of the job was that it kept Jack out of trouble. The number of people seeking to blame the boy for stealing had lessened to but one person, the baker Trom.

Now Angela sat at the table, and watched as a small black cauldron of porridge began to heat up over the fire. The kitchen was a fairly small room. The longest wall ran about 3 meters across. The ceiling was only 2 ½ meters high, and wooden beans stretched across it; above was a thatched roof. There were five walls in total. One was split in half by the door that lead to the living room. On one wall was a stone oven, next to it a brick fireplace. About 1 ½ meters from the ground, wooden cabinets ran along two of the walls. The smallest wall held a window in it, that looked out unto the hills behind the Sparrows' house. Next to the window was the small table for two, that Angela now sat at.

In her hand was a tin cup, and inside that was a dark black liquid. Taking a deep breath, and licking her rosy lips, Angela gulped down the bitter, hot liquid. With a sudden, "Ahck!" her tongue flicked out and licked the right side of her mouth.

Then came a laugh she enjoyed hearing more than anything. It was young, and joyous. The young woman looked up into deep, amused eyes. They glinted with happiness, as did her own green ones. Jack shook his head at his mother, and then moved across the small kitchen.

Bending over to smell the pot of porridge, he scrunched his face into a confusing look, as if not able to describe how the breakfast smelled. Shaking off the sudden shock, the dark haired boy walked over to his mother and placed a morning kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning, mother. I thought I told you," Jack took the chair across from his beloved mother, and realized just how small the kitchen was. His chair pushed up against a wall, and barely left room for him to squeeze in. "I thought I told you that the coffee would taste much better if you waited until my next payday. By then, I will have enough coins to buy sugar and cream. If we have to, I will do twice the work to get more money for supplies."

Angela shook her head, with her eyes closed. "No, that will not be necessary my son," she placed the tin cup on the table, "I will do with this bitter cup of hot water and crushed beans. We need that money you are bringing in to buy you some more tools. Possibly a small pack animal; you know, to help me with carrying materials from one store to another. That way I do not tire myself from having to drop off my supplies after each store." The woman nodded her head slightly, as if to emphasize her point. Then, her jade green eyes looked out over the hills, and watched carefully as two black birds dove across the sky.

It was few quiet moments after that; then the porridge was done. While Jack got the bowls, Angela took the pot off the fire. Pulling out a large ladle, she proceeded to scoop half the pot into the boy's boil, and half into hers.

Picking up a worn spoon, Jack was about to dig in, when he actually took a close look at the porridge. It was a horrible gray, and with god as his witness, he swore he saw a face in it.

Gulping, Jack looked up at his mother, who sat eating the lumpy meal without hesitation. "Mother?"

"Hmm?" she looked up from her food and smiled at her son. "What is it Jack?"

"May I- may I eat my food in my room? I have some things to grab before I leave for the docks." Angela shook her head 'yes,' and watched as the dark haired boy quickly disappeared through the doorway, walked across the living room, and shut himself in his room. Sighing, the young woman went back to eating her food. That was when she finally took a good look at it. It was a horrible gray, and with god as her witness, she swore she saw a face.

---

Letting out a breath he did not know he had been holding, Jack walked over to the window and opened it. Being careful not to get the hot contents on his fingers, poured the soupy porridge out the window. His mom would be off to work soon, as would he, and she would not notice the small pile of porridge outside his window. If she did look at that spot in the next few days, the food would have already been stolen by rats and mice.

Jack kneeled on his bed, and bent over to see under the bed. His black ponytail mixed with the tie of red scarf, as his curious eyes scanned what lay underneath.

Bundles of cloth were clumped towards the very back, and the boy had to be careful while reaching for a red cloth. His fingers stretched as far as they could, but it was useless. Sighing, Jack let his arm fall lax. The sudden relief from pressure sent his body over the side of the bed and onto the floor.

Sighing once again, the boy scooted on his back and finally just grabbed the cloth. "Always taking the hard route first, aye?" Staying half way under, Jack unwrapped the cloth and pulled out a small honey muffin. Then his long fingers tied the red material once again, and placed it over with the other three bundles.

Swiping away cobwebs from his face, the boy brought himself out from the under the bed, and sat up. With a sly smile on his face, Jack began to eat away on the muffin.

---

The dark haired boy's lungs filled with the fresh, salty air of the sea. In his hands was the last of the crates he was to unload from a ship that had come from Port Royal. With a sigh, and a splinter in his arm, Jack placed the crate with the others on the sand. Wiping his hands, the boy looked towards his boss.

A short man, with a bare chin, and large glasses, looked down at a piece of paper in his hand. Scanning over the crates, he smiled and nodded towards Jack. "Aye, you have done two days' work. Now, it is late, and the moon is showing; go home before your mother has a heart attack wondering where you are!" The man pointed a thin, knotty finger at the young boy. With his smile spreading even wider, Jack thanked Trom and ran up towards the town. His booted feet clacked against the stone streets as he raced to get home.

What neither the boy, nor the man, saw was the approaching black sails.

---

"Mom?" Jack opened up their front door and leaned in. His voice seemed to echo in the darkness. When no answer came from any of the rooms, the boy stepped further into the doorway. Shutting the oak door behind him, Jack made his way through each of the rooms. "Mom?" Still, she was not there. He knew that the Summer festival was coming up, and that the market was always buzzing with excitement around that time. Due to all the buying and selling of goods, the store his mother worked at was probably piled high with orders needing filled before the end of the week.

Smiling at the thought of getting his work done before his mother, Jack lit some lanterns, and built a small fire in the hearth. Holding out his hands, and blowing, his deep eyes watched as the small flames grew, and then engulfed the wood. It was not long before the logs were popping with the heat, and red coals were burning away underneath. With a short laugh of relief, the boy sat back on the floor and was soon entranced by the dancing of the flames.

Not knowing it, Jack's eyes slowly drifted close, and he was soon on another one of his adventures in dreamland.

---

"_Fire the cannons!" the sea raged around the wooden vessel, and the sails were raised to catch the wind. Like a wolf catching its prey, the ship glided across the ocean. Soon, the victim of the fierce pirates were right next to them. "Board the ship!" The captain stood at the wheel and looked down as his crew threw grappling hooks over. Even as the other ship came closer, the cannons still fired, creating massive holes in the British vessel. _

_Laughing, and holding their swords and pistols ready, the pirates jumped aboard their target, and began to slaughter the crew. Not one of the officers could get away; and as suddenly as they had come, the hunters of the sea jumped back to their own ship, and carried many treasures in their arms. _

_Watching the British ship sink, the pirates waved at the helpless souls that were still alive. It was but moments before the blue, red, and white flag was all that remained of the 'Tipton' and her crew. _

_When the excitement of the raid finally faded away, the sinful crew of the pirates piled their good into separate piles. The one with the biggest loot always got a reward of a good meal, and a glass of the Captain's ale. _

_Smiling at the promising piles before him, the Captain's boot made a hollow sound as they walked across the wood. Eyeing each golden heap as if it were a masterpiece, and each detail must be considered, the Captain quickly made his way down the line. All the piles were about the same, and he laughed at the thought of no one getting the reward. _

_It was then that he reached the line, and saw a mound of gold that rose to his chest. It was much larger than the others, and silver was mixed in here and there. Immediately the Captain's eyes grew wide, and he looked up and down the pile. Finally he found the person responsible for such a heap, and was amazed with the rest of the crew._

_Sitting against the mast, next to his pile, was an adolescence boy. He had a thin mustache, and locks of black hair. Across his forehead was a red scarf decorated with trinkets such as feathers, beads, and coins. Staring down at his fingernails, and then looking casually up at the Captain, Jack simply said, "Do I win?"_

"_Jack…?" the Captain asked. He sounded confused. "Jack…? Jack Honey-" _

The boy bolted upright, and his dream disappeared. He found himself in the living room, and the fire was burning bright next to him. Orange shadows danced upon the walls, and his mother's rocker slowly creaked behind. Rubbing his face, the boy looked around for the person who had awakened him. Jack was not the least bit surprised to see his mother sitting down in her chair.

Smiling at her son, Angela spoke to him, "I'm sorry I am late. You see…" her face flushed red, and the young woman put a hand to her face. All the while, a ball of yarn dropped from her lap. "Mr. Henry asked me if I would like to have dinner with him tomorrow."

At this, Jack's eyes grew wide with concern, and disappointment. Usually it was good news when a man asked his mother out, because that meant she could find a better man than his father. However, he did not want her to be away the next night.

Seeing her son's concern only made Angela smile. "Do not worry Jack, I reminded him that tomorrow was your birthday, and that I would see him the next night. Is that okay?"

"Of course," Jack stood to his feet, and felt like he was walking on raw meat stubs. His legs pained him a bit as they tried to gain back all feeling. One wobbling a little, the boy managed to kiss his mother on the cheek and head for his room.

Just then, Angela stood, her fingers clasped together and she held them to her mouth. In truth, she had come back after Jack had left for work. She forgot something and couldn't find it at first. Then she remembered that her son had used her bag for some reason, and headed into his room. It was then that she saw the crumbs, which lead her to search under the bed, and then to find the clothes of goods. "Jack? I was wondering-"

Before the young woman could finish what she was about to say, a loud blasting sound ran through the air. Then there was a scream, and the cracking of wood. Again, and again the sound came. At the first time, Angela ran to Jack and held onto his arm. "We must get out of here!"

"Why?"

"Pirates!" was the last thing he heard before his mother was pulling him by the arm out the door. The streets were filled with chaos, and everywhere houses were catching on fire from the cannons.

A large ship bobbed up and down just off the shore. The ship flew black sails, and the rest of it was hard to see in the night. Then a loud roar would fill the air, and a light flashed from the ship as another cannon was fired at the town.

Jack's heart began to beat faster and faster at the thought of the attack on his home. Never before had they had trouble from pirates, and never before had he felt so much fear. It overwhelmed him, and his feet would not move, despite the pulling on his arm from his mother.

Another fire bursted through the night, and another cannon was fired. the boy's deep eyes caught the shape of small boat heading towards the shore. After that, it was not long before many men were departing from the boats and running ashore. Every minute they grew closer, their feet tearing up the sand. Swords, hatchets, knives, and pistols were found in their hands. Slowly their faces entered the light of the fire, and that was when Jack was snapped back to reality. The horrid sight of the men finally became all too real to him.

Now, Jack was the one to pull his mother to safety. Before working at the docks, he had got an apprenticeship from the smith. After learning how to make swords, he taught himself how to use one. So, that was where he was heading, down the stone streets, glanicng at the stores beside him. Finally, after passing many burning buildings, and frantic people, Jack and his mother made it to the smith. It was just in the nick of time that the boy had rushed inside, told his mother to hide, and grabbed a sword.

When Jack came back out the door, a group of ten or more men rushed at him. The smell of rumand blood was heavy with the pirates. Sweat and dirt spread across their bodies, and many teeth were missing. Pulling out his sword, Jack cut into the attackers. Immediately two of the men fell dead. Nevertheless, three more pirates took their companions place.

The group was pressing in on the boy, and making it exceedingly hard for him to strike. Metal clanged, and Jack jumped onto barrels and crates to have an advantage of height. Soon, the pirates were fighting even more fiercely, angry to be showed up by a young boy. Meanwhile, Angela was crouching behind a bench inside and looking out the window. Her son jumped up into the view of the dirty window. The inside of the mill suddenly grew alive when the flames from the other houses jumped across to catch the smith on fire. Wooden beams cracked and fell as the fire quickly burned away the thatched roof.

A sudden heat spiked Jack's back, and his body immediately turned around. Fear found its way quickly into the boy's heart, and soon spread to make him immobile. The pirates took this advantage and grabbed the boy by the legs, quickly pulling them from under him. Jack fell onto the barrles, and his nose began to bleed once it cracked against the wooden edge. Not even able to scream, Jack was pulled into the crowd of men and quickly subdued by their sheer number. While five had to hold him, because of his lashing limbs, the other three ran into the smith. They had figured out Jack's fear was caused by someone being inside the smith.

"No!" Now the boy fought even harder. His muscles tightened, and he tried to loosen the grip the men had on him. Still, they gripped him far too hard. "No!" Jack's eyes grew large with fear when the three men finally came out of the burning building with a struggling young woman. Her brown hair was pulled, and sweat stretched across her brow. The fear the boy had was ten times worse in her. Angela was more worried about her son, that for her own being.

"Jack!" She shouted back and winced when one of the men pulled tighter on her hair. It broke Angela's heart to see her son struggle so hard to break free. Now his eyes were shut, and his Jack's jaw clenched shut. All of his energy was on breaking free. Sweat dripped down his brow and a foul taste came into his mouth. It was then that he realized the pain. One of the men had punched him in the stomach.

The man holding Angela by the hair began to laugh. His teeth were crooked, and a couple were missing. Stringy hair gripped onto a dirty and bloody scalp. A nose like a rat's jutted from his face, and his eyes sunk into his dirty head. The man's laugh was horse, he seemed to wheeze what air he could get in. "Well, what do we have 'ere? A mother 'n' son. Heh, Horbis, what was the policy on strong boys?"

A man out of Jack's sight spoke. He sounded scrawny and had a nasil sound to his voice. "All boys capable of serving are te be brought aboard, sir; Captain's orders." There was a loud sniff from the man, and he licked his lips. When Horbis had spoken, his breath wafted over the boy's nose. Jack scrunched up his face and licked the inside of his mouth over and over again to get rid of the terrible smell and taste.

"Then, Jack is it? Well, Jack is coming with us." The five men holding onto him tightened their grip, and rose him to his feet; the muddy ground below sucked on his back as he was placed on his feet. Once to his feet, Jack struggled again to escape their grip. Each of the five men dug what was left of their nails into Jack's skin. He could not help but cry out in pain.

Who seemed to be the leader of the small group laughed and then pulled out a knife. Jack looked at it with fearful eyes, and suddenly found himself pushed to his knees. Not knowing what was going to happen, he exchanged fearful looks with his mother. Angela took no time in beginning to beg for Jack to be spared. "Please, don't harm him. He will cooperate! Please, I beg you-" her pleads were silenced into a choking sound. A crimson liquid dripped from each side of her mouth. Her head hung low, and Jack watched in horror as her eyes faded and lost their life.

A torn up, black handle was turned, and rusted blade was pulled from the woman's gut. The leader laughed and smiled as the woman's body fell to the streets. Grief, and pain swirled up inside the boy. With it came a great and terrible anger. "No!" his voice rang through the streets. Jack's features turned dark and his face was turned into a mournful scowl. Tears streamed down is cheeks, washing away some of the dirt. "Mother! Wake up!" There was nothing he could do, and Jack felt so helpless. No more did he fight against the men's grip on him. Going limp, Jack's eyes blurred and he was dragged back to the shore.

The trip back to the boats was lost in Jack's grief. What events he remebered was hardly any. One more of the group's men was killed, people screamed and ran, more boys were torn away from their greiving parents, and even some of the girls were taken. The last thing Jack remebered befor the dawn was the bobbing of the boats, and the fire burning through the night.

* * *

-)(-

* * *

A/N: _Sorry if I did not reply to your reviews, but my schedule is hetic. Well, at least I got this chapter done rather quickly. I do hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to the next one. Jack Sparrow Rules! _

_Your Author,_

_Marlo_

_Read on..._

_Got it? Good._


	3. Meeting Hector

**Pirates of the Caribbean:**

**LIFE AS A SPARROW**

BY Marlonian Hayes

**Chapter 3: Meeting Hector**

Voices swirled around his head. They were muffled, and slurred together. A large pain was in his stomach, and he felt like vomiting. Slowly his vision came back to him, and the voice became clearer. The boy finally realized that his body was rocking back and a forth just a little, as if on a ship. Soon, he could make out some of the voices that were speaking.

One was that of a young child. His voice was soft and sweet, and filled with youth. "I- I want my mom." The child's voice shook with fear, and Jack kept his eyes closed, but could easily tell the boy was crying. "Why did they have to take me?"

A harsher, colder voice answered him, "Why did they have to take any of us!? My pop's dead 'cause of these pirates, so don't whine over your own problems." The harsh words came from a clearly older boy. His breath was heavy, and his body was tense. All the others were quiet, if there were others. Suddenly, the younger boy began to cry and wail.

This was when Jack finally decided to open his deep eyes. His lids fluttered, and immediately he had trouble seeing. The room was much too dark, and it smelled of rotting wood and rum. Two wooden benches were fixed to the walls, and he laid on the floor, which had a splash of water rolling in it. Little light entered the room, only a stream of it came from a small porthole in the side. The window looked out over the ocean.

Sitting up made Jack's head hurt, and he quickly rubbed it, ignoring the nausea that took over him. Wincing the dark haired boy looked around for the boy who was crying. He found him. A small one, only about seven, "Just like me…" Jack whispered to himself. Opening his eyes all the way, Jack tried a smile and moved up to the bench with the younger boy.

The child had sandy hair, and rounded features; obviously he was well fed. It was then that Jack recognized him as Trom's youngest son. Leaning against the wall, Jack spoke to the frightened boy, "So, what's your name?"

His soft words grabbed the child's attention, as well as the other boys. There was a total of five of them (Including Jack). In a choking voice, the child answered the older one's question. "E-Elijah, sir."

Jack smiled at the child, and leaned in to look at him in the face. "Alright, Elijah, why do you cry?"

"Because- because I miss my mother."

Shaking his head as if he understood, because he did, Jack spoke in the softest, most kind tone he could manage. "Aye, I miss my mother too. Let me ask you something, what is it that you want most in this world right now?"

"My mommy!" Elijah began to cry again. His tears and cries seemed to fill up the room. The older that had spoken harshly to the child, seemed to care for him now. The boy grabbed Jack by the shoulder, even though Jack did not turn around; in as mean as a voice as the boy could muster, he spoke to young Jack.

The boy's foul breath ran down Jack's neck. "Hey! What give you the right to make my brother cry like that?" Ignoring him, the older boy kept staring into Elijah's fantastic blue eyes. '_Apparently, he gets his looks from his mother.' _Laughing to himself at the joke, Jack continued to finish what he was going to say.

"Now, stop crying," amazingly, Elijah listened to him. "What you want the most, is not your mother. Understand? What you want the most is to get out of here. You see, I know this, because I too want my mother, but the only way I am going to get to see her, is by finding a way off this blasted ship. Not only that, but getting something to eat. How are you going to live long enough to see your mom again if you don't eat, hmm?"

Elijah was silent and in thought. His mind was finally taken off the pain of loosing his mother, and Jack realized so was his. As Elijah thought about what the older boy had said, his brother just looked at Jack amazed. No one had ever gotten Elijah to settle down by being that calm and gentle with him.

When Jack finally stopped looking at the child, he turned and sat upright on the bench. Elijah's brother held out a hand. Staring at the boy with a suspicious look, Jack shook it. Just like Elijah, the boy had sandy hair and bright blue eyes. Only his features were more rough and blocky, and a bit of beard lay on his chin. "Well, thank-you for settling him down. I am Trom's oldest son, James!" The name only brought a scowl to Jack's face.

He hated that name, and would forever curse the person who bore that name first. "Jack," he said shaking the boy's hand reluctantly.

Ignoring the other boy's stare, James began to speak, when a jingle of keys was heard. All eyes turned towards the door as the handle was turned slowly. When it opened, a skinny man, with a beak shaped nose and a hollow look to his face, stood behind the door. When he spoke, his voice sounded a bit like it was coming through the nose. Immediately Jack identified him as Horrbis.

Taking a big sniff Horrbis began to speak. "You lads are pretty strong aren't yeah? Well, the captain only needs the strongest out of you lot right now. YOU!" a bent, nail like finger pointed at Jack. The boy was unfazed, and knew he would be picked. After all, his form was more well built than the others.

Slowly standing, Jack made his way towards the man, and Elijah just whimpered at the thought of loosing another person in his life. A sad smile made its way onto the older boy's lips as he turned around to reassure the younger child. James took Elijah into his arms, and began to sooth his brother by stroking his sandy hair. Too much had happened too soon for the pair, and now they were just trying to settle down after the storm had finally passed.

Sighing at the sight of the two, Jack turned his head back around and stepped in front of bird-like man. Horrbis' cold fingers gripped like iron claws around his arm. Being none too gentle, the man continued to drag Jack up the stairs in front of the door, and onto the deck of the pirate vessel.

---

At first it was the smell of salt that took the boy by surprise. True, he could smell the sea living so close to it; but never had it been so pure and refreshing. The salty taste came to the boy's mouth, and he was grateful for it. For it could have been the sea salt, or that of the sweat, vomit, and rum that hovered around the bottom of the ship.

Next came the view to the boy. His eyes narrowed at first, and tried to adjust to the sudden flash of light from the sun. All around, the sky was bluer and clearer than he had ever seen it. Not a cloud was to be seen for miles, and land was certainly far away. A plain of blue waters were on either side of the large, dark wooded, ship. That was what came to Jack's vision after the gorgeous sea.

The wood was worn, and stained with murk and god only knows what else. A tall mast held black sails that rippled in the wind. Above the captain's chambers there was the wheel. A tall man stood behind it. His skin was darker than the others. Large, brown pants were around his legs, and he had a shirtless back where well formed muscles were obvious.

Around the rest of the deck there were a dozen other men; usually skinny and unshaven. Most of them were missing their hair, teeth, or just plain intelligence behind their eyes. None were younger than thirty, and none older than fifty. To go with their ages, only a couple had the muscles that Jack saw on the dark man.

Horrbis noticed the boy's wondering eyes, and shoved him towards the captain's cabin. Not wanting to get hurt, Jack reluctantly moved forward, and walked up to the door of the quarters. Once there, Horrbis leaned over the boys's shoulder and knocked on the door with his boney hand. A rough voice asked who was there, and the gaunt man answered. "Aye, it's Horrbis, Captain. I brought the strongest of the lot!"

There was some shuffling of papers, and glass, behind the door, and then it opened. Standing in the doorway was a tall man with a short red beard. His face was rough, and brown eyes glinted underneath dark eyebrows. A large hat was placed on his head, and one large feather stuck out the side. His clothes were that of a well kept captain. Although he did have a dark purple vest on. A cutles and pistol could be seen strapped onto his belt. On his right shoulder, a small black monkey sat.

Leaning in towards the boy, the man looked over Jack. He stepped out of the door, and shut it before Jack could peek inside. His black boots made a hollow sound on the ground as he walked around the teen. Chills were sent up and down Jack's spine as the captain ran a finger over his muscles. Still, the boy did not flinch from the sudden touch.

Finally, the man was done his inspection, and seemed pleased with the fact that Jack did not withdraw or flinch under being touched. "He'll do. My boy will take him from here. Get Hector for me will ya? I'm afraid this lad is going to need some instruction." After saying that, the man turned around and strode back into the cabin. The monkey on his shoulder chattered and yelled at the boy standing there in the after noon sun.

---

Horrbis chuckled after the door was shut. Jack naturally wondered what was so funny, but ignored his curiosity for now. The tall man turned from Jack, so the boy turned as well to look out over the deck. Thinking that Hector was one of the older men on the deck, Jack was completely surprised when Horrbis called the name and a young boy came running from behind a pile of tangled nets. His hair was a deep, rusty red, much like the captains. His face showed him to be no more than a year or two older than Jack, his skin was smooth, unlike the men's. A white shirt with long sleeves hung loosely on his shoulders, and dark brown pants hugged the boy's legs.

Smiling, Hector strode up to the man. Horrbis whispered in his ear what was to be done with the island boy, and then walked off with a small grin on his face. Jack did not like the feeling he got from the man's look.

Not paying any attention to the discomfort in his eyes, Hector placed it upon himself to learn the boy's name. Holding out a hand with long fingers, the older boy introduced himself. "Hello, I'm Hector Barbossa. May I inquire you name?"

Now a smile came upon Jack's face. He knew better than to introduce himself as 'Captain,' so he just spoke in a sly instead. "Jack Sparrow!" The two shook hands, and it was obvious that Jack had done more work in his life than the boy's. Jack's palms were rough to the touch, while Hector's were smooth. Jack also took in that Hector's fingernails were cleaner.

"So, I hear from Horrbis that you are in need of a guide," Hector placed his hands on his hips, and leaned in a bit. Not bothering to wait for Jack to answer, the older boy threw his arms in the air and said rather loud, "Welcome to the Black Pearl, faster ship in the Caribbean!" Some of the pirates stopped for a minute what they were doing, and glanced over at the boys. Jack could not help but smile wryly at them. A bit of embarrassment made its way into the island boy's heart.

Hector finally let his hands fall to his side and a great smile was on his face. It was apparent that he took pride in the ship, and its captain. Who, Jack could only guess, was his father.

It was a moment of silence before either one of them spoke or moved. Clearing his throat, Jack asked Hector, "So, what is it that your father wishes from me?" Not even thinking twice on the subject of how the boy knew the captain was his father, Hector pointed to a pile of nets and unorganized crates.

"We need to get them untangled, organized, and into the holding chamber. Is that alright for you? I mean, I can tell you've done a lot of work in your life, but is this too much."

Putting on a cocky smile, Jack leaned in and looked over at the crates. "I bargain you can do the job yourself? But seeing as I am under you command I'll do my best to keep up." With out further comment, Jack walked over to the crates, spit on his hands, rubbed them, and then bent down as if to lift one all by himself.

Thinking the boy would get hurt from that, Hector ran over to him. His arm was outstretched so as to reach Jack before anything happened. To his dismay, the boy simply slipped his fingers under the wooden crate and lifted the item without hesitation. Hector simply stopped a few feet away from Jack and stared in astonishment at what the island lad had done.

Smiling even cockier than before, Jack spoke the truth for once, "I had a job hauling crates and cargo off of ships back home. Don't suppose you could untangle those nets? If not I'll do 'em all. Just show me where the cargo hold is and relax." That was exactly was Hector did.

For the rest of the day, the older boy watched as Jack took the crates down in the cargo hold, organized what was in them, and then ran back up for another one. No one offered a hand, and Hector did not doubt that Jack would refuse any that did. The nets were untangled more quickly than he had seen any of the other crew do them, and once again the island boy impressed Hector. It only took young Jack about two hours to get the entire job done. By then, the captain's son had fallen asleep against the rail in the afternoon sun.

Jack found the boy, and a small grin came upon his face at his latest discovery. Sitting down next to his new companion, Jack deliberately said loud enough for the boy to be startled, "Lovely day isn't it!" Hector gave the reaction Jack had wanted, and expected.

He simply jumped from his spot and to his feet. Looking around with fearful eyes, as if he had been caught napping during watch, Hector found the culprit who had awoken him. With a frown deep in his face, Hector watched as a young Jack began to crack up at his joke.

With a small 'humph,' Hector sat back down next to the boy. Soon, he was laughing at the thought of his reaction. That was how the boys spent most of their time together, laughing and teasing each other. From that point on, the two were close friends. Jack had never had a real friend before, and the captain's son was a wonderful change to all the ridicule he had received from the children back home.

So it passed, the first day that Jack Sparrow met Hector Barbossa. From that day on, things would never be the same for either of them, as life plunged both of the boys into a whirlwind of pain, adventure, lost, and gain. For Jack, meeting Hector was the worst, and best thing that ever happened to him.

_End of chapter 3_

* * *

A/N: _Dear readers, _

_I like to try and get speedy updates, because I can type 60 words a minute. Therefore, I hope to update faster from now on. Unfortunately, my computer had a virus, so I could not type as much, and could not get onto my account for a while. Please exscuse this miner fact, and review all you want. I do enjoy hearing from readers. Any hints would be appreciated, and do not worry if the quality of this chapter did not meet the standards set by the other two. In future, chapters will be of a higher reading quality, for your enjoyment. _

_Thank-you to all who have reviewed, and I promise to reply if I haven't already. _

_your author,_

_Marlo_


	4. The First Raid, The First Kill

**Chapter 4: The First Raid, the First Kill**

Three weeks had passed since the meeting between the two boys. Many pranks have been pulled, plenty of men upset, and a couple mishaps. Being the captain's son, the crew would panic over the slightest injury. Once Hector almost broke his arm, while challenging Jack to a climbing contest. Naturally, the island boy easily defeated the sailor. On the way down, Hector's feet slipped from the wood on the mast. His fingers tried to grab what rope and metal was wrapped around the pole. Jack grew frightened for his friend's safety, and only let out his breath when Hector managed to grab hold of a dangling line before crashing into the ground. The only injury was a bruised and battered elbow.

After that narrow escape, the other pirates made sure to keep an eye on the two boys. Usually the captain would give them jobs so that they were nowhere near each other. Placing the two together was like setting off a box of fireworks. It was exciting and dangerous at the same time. Nevertheless, the boys defeated the captain and always managed to get together here and there.

As Jack spent more time with Hector above deck, he was once again isolated away from the other boys off the island village. All except Elijah, who continued to look towards Jack as an idol. He told his brother one time that he wanted to be just like the older boy. For this, James smacked Elijah, and told him that he should never hope to be like Jack. Of course, this only made the little child cry and run to Jack for support. Always, the older boy would accept Elijah with open arms. More than once, he held the boy to calm him after his brother grew angry.

The other three boys were always quiet and only spoke amongst themselves. Occasionally, they would talk with James. This left Jack alone with Elijah, and soon the younger boy began to look at Jack as an older brother and not James.

This was how the three weeks progressed. On the twenty-first day of the boys being on the Black Pearl, Jack was called above after their meal. Never before had he taken night shift. Always the boy would work during the day, and stay in the cabin given to them, at night. Apparently, the captain had deemed Jack good enough to work during the hours of darkness. He had no idea exactly why he was called above, and did not question Horrbis when the man summoned him. Before he left though, Elijah gave Jack a pleading look not to go. Smiling gently, the teen placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, and then he ascended to the deck above.

---

Rain and wind had taken over the ship. The waves of the sea buffeted the sides and rocked the vessel back and forth. At first, Jack had a hard time keeping his balance, but as Horrbis pulled him towards the others, he quickly got use to the rocking.

All the other crewmates were lined up on the deck and looking straight ahead. In front of them was their captain. His eyes were dark and a scowl was placed on his face. Sneering at Horrbis as the two approached, the captain then turned around to face the rest of the crew. He paced back and forth in front of them, pinning each man down with his impenetrable stare.

Jack was pushed into line next to a most disgusting man. The smell of the man was so violent that it cut through the heavy scent of rain and salt. As the boy looked closer at this man, he could identify him as the one to have killed his mother. All of a sudden, a burning rage welled inside of the teen. He gritted his teeth and his eyes darkened. However, no action could be taken at the moment, so he looked back to the pacing captain.

Before really tuning into what the man was saying, Jack looked around for Hector. He could not see his friend until he spotted a face peering through one of the cabin windows. It seemed disappointed and sad. Jack recognized Hector and could not help what was worrying the child so much.

As he was thinking this, a purple jacket blocked his view. Jack looked up to see the back of the captain. His eyes were on his son before the tall man turned back to the boy. "Hector doesn't come with us on our… 'trips'." the crew chuckled at this and Captain Barbossa put on a broad smile. Then the man looked down at Jack, still holding his smile. "This'll be your first time, hopefully not your last. Sparrow's yur name? Well, Sparrow, listen up!"

Jack had let his eyesight wander towards Hector again who slowly pulled himself away from the window. The rain still streaked down it and a handprint was left on the foggy glass. "Sparrow!" The island boy pulled himself upright and faced the captain with a surprised look. All the other crew began to chuckle again at the boy's sudden startle.

"That's better. Horrbis has been your guide lately; he'll take you aboard. But once you get the idea of what yer doin', he'll leave you be. I don't expect much from ya boy, but I do expect something," again Captain Barbossa began pacing back and forth in front of the cabin. The man on the wheel waited for orders when the captain turned to face him. "Alright, pull us in!" At this, the crew scattered across the deck. Some went down into the ship, while others busied themselves with ropes and swords. Jack heard one man complain about his gunpowder being wet.

The teen was hopelessly out of place and had no idea where to go. The other men just bustled by him, knocking his body to the side occasionally as their arms brushed together. Jack was driven towards the railing of the ship; when he finally arrived there, he was more than grateful to take a hold of it.

As his fingers curled around the soft wood, his eyes peered out into the water. What they saw was a complete surprise, and yet a practical reason for why the captain was now shouting orders here and there. In the deep night of the sea, one could barely make out the white outline of a ship's sails in the distance.

Jack's deep eyes stared out at the vessel, wondering why they were getting closer and closer to it. '_Maybe we need some goods. NO, think about it better. These men are pirates, they won't want to trade. That means-' _"Fire!" before Jack could finish his thoughts, a cannonball went flying from the ship underneath his feet. The heavy iron ball filled with gunpowder flew towards the other vessel and disappeared into the night. Most of the men waited to see what would happen. When nothing did, they seemed disappointed and Barbossa began shouting orders again.

Then suddenly a blast of fire came roaring from the merchant ship. It lit up the night sky and dark pieces of wood went flying into the night. People screamed and even more wood burst into flames. The cannonball had hit a storage of ammunition and had now caught the whole ship on fire. It was amazing to the young teen's eyes. He watched as more and more fire towered into the sky. Smoke covered the ship and soon the Black Pearl was close enough that grappling hooks were tossed aboard and the two ships pulled together.

As soon as the gap between the Black Pearl and the merchant vessel was closed, men poured over the sides of the pirate ship and onto the deck of the other ship. Jack was lost and confused as he watched the sea rats take over. Military forces came rushing out from cabins and began to shoot and stab the pirates. Only a few fell and the rest fought back. Civilians screamed and ran to the lower levels that proved to function as death traps. Either the fire would take over the rest of the ship, or the pirates would soon flood into the rooms.

The island boy just stood near the edge. His hands still gripped the railing to the point that his knuckles were quickly turning white. With the fire, the teen could take in every detail of the bloody fight aboard the merchant. Soldiers were being cut down fast while only a few pirates fell. Jack could tell just who was more experienced in fighting.

Suddenly, a tight feeling came around his neck and under arms. A large hand pulled up Jack's shirt and the boy's body went with it. Soaring through the air for a few seconds, the Sparrow roughly landed on the merchant ship's deck. The wood was wet, but only from the rain. When the boy finally came to his senses, his deep eyes began to focus and saw the battle taking place before him under the moonlight. As he stared at this, a body suddenly dropped down in front of him.

With a cry of surprise, Jack pushed himself backwards until he felt his feet hit the rail. Then he pulled himself up to sit against the wood. The body of the man still lay in front of him. Two, brown, lifeless eyes stared at the island teen. They did not look away, nor did they shut to blink. The eyes just kept staring, the fear of seeing their attacker still plastered across the face. The man wore a red and white uniform; it was stained with a large red spot that was ever growing. Suddenly, Jack realized that a crimson liquid was reflecting the pale light off his hands. "Blood," the boy whispered to himself as he saw his hands completely covered in the body fluid. Panicking, he found himself wiping the liquid away on his shirt.

It was then that Horrbis found Jack, whom he had thrown over the railing. Laughing at the boy wiping away his hands, Horrbis once again grabbed Jack's shirt and pulled him up to his feet. "Come on boy! We have a job to do. Follow my lead," as he said this, he pulled a second cutlass from his belt and shoved it into the boy's hands. Once Jack's fingers wrapped around the handle, Horrbis was off into the crowd of men, slicing away. One soldier gave the man a particularly hard time. The last the boy saw of his 'guide' was when the pirate began to fend off two of the militia men.

---

After Horrbis disappeared into the chaos, Jack was left alone. His hands gripped tightly onto the cutlass that he had been handed. The island boy was both afraid to use it, as well as let it go. Jack Sparrow had never killed anything more intelligent than a mouse before. His life was fairly sheltered from the horrible world of piracy. '_All of that has changed now. Survival of the cruelest, that is the law out here.' _As Jack thought this, a sudden movement caught his eye.

A red and white uniform unexpectedly emerged from within the deep grays and other flashes of uniform on the deck. The two colors became very lucid under the pale moonlight. With the uniform came a cry of an angry man as he raised his own sword at the smaller teen.

Fear momentarily took over Jack as he looked into the crazed eyes of his attacker. Panicking, the boy ducked just in time as a whistle of air passed over his head. It had followed the blade that struck nothing but an empty space.

Not bothering to look back to see how his assailant made out, Jack dove into the disorder of the fight. His well formed body was just small enough to allow him to easily pass between the fighting men. The smell of sweat and blood was heavy in the air as flashes of red, white, and even silver caught the teen's eye. However, none of these minute distractions would take his attention away from finding a safe place.

Jack's bare feet pounded the wet wood. Water began to splash onto the vessel's deck. The storm on the sea was getting even more vicious and soon the merchant ship would be engulfed and taken to the bottom of the ocean. The roaring of the fire was growing as well. Jack's ears mainly concentrated on that, muting out the cries of agony, victory, and anger all around him.

Several men stepped in front of the boy's scurrying body and promptly got pushed to the side. Usually, this would cause the man to fall and be overtaken by their own adversary. Several times Jack had pushed on the white pant legs of soldiers. Several times Jack's ears heard a plead for their life, as a cutlass pierced through their red overcoats.

In just a few short moments, the island teen had ran from where his ship was connected to the merchant vessel, to where the fire was raging near the cargo hold. Smoke and flames were everywhere, but Jack didn't see them. The heat was intense and would have scared off any other man, but Jack didn't feel it. All he saw the raging fire as was empty. No one else was near it, therefore he would be safe until this whole ordeal was over.

The young Sparrow stopped right before the steps leading down into the cargo hold. Several innocent civilians laid strewn here or there. Obviously, they had been killed when the cannonball hit the gunpowder. The rest of the passengers had fled the other way and went below to lower levels. Now they were trapped underneath until either the soldiers won the fight and the fire was put out, or the fire consumed the whole ship. It was a life or death situation.

When his feet reached the cargo steps was when he finally snapped out of the trance he had been placed in. Sweat was now beading on Jack's face and soaking his shirt from the heat of the flames. Squinting, Jack looked into the great fire and saw that it came from a large whole in the side of the ship. That whole was ever growing as flames ate away the wood. A couple times, as Jack stood there, the fire would roar louder than usual. Jack took this as a sign that something was about to happen. He was right.

As the battle raged on in moonlight, the fire turned the faces of the men orange and turned the bodies of others to be nothing more than a black shape against burning flames. No one else seemed to notice the young teen standing there, his cutlass was barely in his fingers. Finally, one soldier happened to look over by the flames and saw the shadowy figure of the island boy. Not caring how young he was, just knowing he was a pirate, soldier slowly advanced on him. He pushed his fighting comrades out of the way, as he did with many pirates. After they had been pushed, the opponents would just leap back at each other. Clashes and clinks of swords were even harder to hear now since the fire had grown.

Jack held a death grip on his cutlass. His back was to the fire and began to feel as if it was on fire itself. His deep eyes were still dark due to the fire being behind him. However, the fight was in front of him and that is where his eyes were. Although, his ears were on the fire. He wanted to make sure it would not roar louder than usual again. Jack had taken care of many fires back home, so he knew how one would act. If the fire began to grow louder, that meant it was getting more fuel. Which also meant it was becoming more intense. "Just how much of the ammunition exploded when the cannonball hit?" Jack asked himself. But, before he could ponder on this thought, just like his first attacker, an angry soldier came rushing at him.

This soldier had Jack cornered and the boy raced to turn to face him as well as raise his own cutlass. The two swords met with a small 'chink' and quickly slipped away from each other. Jack was pushed back by the force and fought to maintain his footing. Just behind him was a stairway to the cargo hold. If he fell down that… well let's just say he may not be walking off the ship anytime soon. Not to mention, the fire was more intense in the lower decks, especially the cargo hold. That was where the fire originated.

Jack looked back at the steps with a small bit of fear in his eyes. Then, that fear vanished as he turned back to the soldier. The man took a step towards the island boy and then… A sudden blast of heat engulfed the two beings. It wasn't the fire itself, but a wave of heat from the fire, as it roared louder than ever and burned bright into the night. The flames suddenly blasted into the darkness and more of the ship was taken as it grew.

When the heat hit the two about to go into battle, it disoriented Jack so he couldn't see. Every part of his body felt the heat, especially the hand that held the metal sword. Letting go of that suddenly, Jack began to stumble back and forth. His feet caught ground except for one fateful moment.

Nothing, there was nothing but air beneath his foot. As soon as the teen pushed down on the air, his whole body was falling with it. What Jack had feared happening, finally did happen. His thoughts raced on the border of fear and surprise. When his shoulder hit one of the steps and the flames disappeared above his head, the only feeling he truly felt was pain. It raced through his body as his shoulder blade crashed into the wood. After his shoulder hit, his back was next, then his legs. Jack's body had landed near the end of the steps, so he only went down two or three before his upper body slid onto the wooden floors. Then, the world faded.

It was only a few seconds that Jack was rendered unconscious, but it was enough. His head was whirling and making him dizzy as the boy opened up his eyes. Pushing up on the ground below him, Jack pulled his lower body from the stairs and held himself up with one hand. Holding the other hand to his head, Jack took in his surroundings. Judging by the intense heat and the flames only a few yards away from him, Jack guessed himself to be in the cargo hold. The floor was damp, even with the flames. Shattered pieces of wood, from crates, were scattered everywhere. Most of them held a black tint to them.

Moaning with a bit of pain, Jack sat there for a few moments, holding his head. Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, the boy knew calming himself was the most important item of business. If he were to panic now, then it would be all over for him. Finally, the pain in his head began to lessen. "Let's try standing first," he whispered to himself. With that, he finally scooted all the way back from the stairs. Getting on all fours, Jack bent his legs into a crouching like position. Then, reaching for the railing of the steps, he pulled himself to his feet. At first his feet wouldn't grip the floorboards. They slipped here and there, but always one foot touched the ground and kept him from falling completely. When the boy finally got the hang of standing once again, he tried placing a foot on the steps.

Just as he did this, another moan came. However, it was not from him. The sound came from behind the island teen. Jack listened carefully, hoping not to hear the moan again. His hands gripped a part of the rail, extending from his body. Jack's shoulder was still sore, and if someone else was down here, that meant he would have to help. That much he knew; what he didn't know was just whom had been caught down in the cargo hold.

With a sigh of relief, Jack pulled himself forward to step onto the stairs when the moan came again. Stopping in mid pull, Jack lowered himself back to the floor and turned around. His frustration was apparent when he furrowed his brow and had to force himself not to stamp his booted foot. Frowning deeply, Jack looked around the cargo hold. The flames were still burning bright to his right and that was when he noticed that another barrel was close to being engulfed by them. If anyone was down below with him, then he would have to find them before the fire found the barrel.

A bit of fear rose in the boy when he saw the barrel. Trying to push the thoughts out of his mind, Jack began to scan the rest of the cargo hold. The rest of the lower level in front of him was dark and almost impenetrable. Unfortunately, Jack could see a little light in the darkness. That was when he saw a large wooden pole had collapsed and that a body lay underneath. This body moved slightly, pulling its hand to its chest. Jack got closer, and by the smell of the being, he guessed it was a pirate that lay before him. As Jack got even closer, he realized it was no ordinary pirate.

"You-" Jack whispered.

Suddenly the pirate's eyes shot open and he stared up into the deep brown eyes of the teen. A smile came upon his horrible face when he saw the teen. "Jack! It's good to see you. I'm in a bit of trouble," at this, the man looked down at his trapped leg. Jack did not move from his spot, instead, he stared at the man laying before him. As the man sat up and his face entered the light of the fire, Jack knew he was the one. His face was covered in sweat and his eyes sunken in. Crooked, and few, teeth flashed as he spoke. All the hair that was left on his head was stringy and clung to a dirty and almost bloody scalp. Jack had heard others call him 'Reneger', but Jack knew him as his mother's killer.

"Give me a hand boy," Reneger snapped Jack out of his thinking and began to place his fingers under the wood of the pole. Jack really did not want to help the pirate in front of him, but what choice did he have. His mother had raised him up to be a good son. He always wanted to make her proud, always wanted to be good for her. Sadly, Jack would never have the chance to prove just how much he loved Angela. Never would he see her smiling face again.

A small snarl came upon the teen's face as he stared at the one responsible for his dark thoughts, for his mother's death. Reneger did not seem to notice this and continued to push the wood. Unfortunately, for him, it was too heavy. "Don't just sit there!" Finally, the man was more than frustrated. He turned to look at Jack and yelled at him for not helping right away. "Come on lad, I know yer strong! Help me already!" Jack still held his snarl, but he reluctantly placed his hands on the wood and began to push.

Slowly the wood rolled a few inches down. The support had fallen on the man's shins and was hard to move. Both of them pushed as hard as possible, but found it harder than it looked. Reneger went on a cursing spree as he beat the wood out of his frustration. Breathing heavily, his jacket moved up and down with each angry hit. Jack watched, almost happy to see the pirate upset. Then, something caught his eye.

It flashed gold as it fell out of the man's pocket and onto the wood. Jack looked down and saw that it was a golden locket, fairly large. It landed beside Reneger's pistol and gleamed with the fire's light. Quickly snatching up both items, Jack hid the pistol and looked at the locket now in his hands. The locket was made of pure gold with a rather light chain attached to it. Several circles, with plenty of designs on them, met in the center around an emerald, cut to a perfect oval. Carefully, the island teen unlatched it. Opening it up, he could see two portraits inside. One was of a young gentlemen, the other a young lady dressed in white. Each looked fairly sad and rich. However, the inscription along the edge of the locket suggested that they were happily in love.

"To my love: Samantha. May your smile always warm the hearts of those around you-" in the middle of reading the inscription, Jack realized he was reading it allowed. Slowly, the teen closed it just as gently as he had opened it. When he looked up at the pirate, he saw a smiling face. "Take a fancy to gold, do we?" Reneger said while reaching out for the locket. Without thinking about it, Jack recoiled his hand and held the locket close to his chest. "Give it here boy-"

"No, you stole it. It belongs to the poor couple, which are probably dead. I shall toss it into the sea." Jack wanted revenge for his mother's death and throwing away the locket seemed like a good idea. It was obvious that it belonged to a pair of unfortunate lovers. They most likely perished before Jack came aboard. Not only would he be able to get revenge on Reneger (pirates treasure that which they have and other do not) but he would also be able to honor the pairs love, lost to the sea.

Anger rose in the pirate. He didn't care too much for others telling him what to do, or defying him. Forming his face into a snarl, the man lunged for the teen. Jack was too quick for Reneger and managed to pull back before the man could reach him. The pole on Reneger's leg kept him from getting to the island boy as well. Slamming his fist down on the floor boards in frustration, the man reached into his pocket. A sudden look of horror came over Reneger's hard features as he came to a realization: his gun was missing. While his eyes scanned the area around him, there was a sudden click beside his head. Not bothering to look up, the man began to laugh. He had no idea why, he just did. "How did this happen? God truly works for the British. Well, I guess I deserve it. Now, you'll be more like us kid." At this, the man looked down the barrel of his own pistol, his eyes glancing up to see stare into the deep eyes of the young teen.

Jack only returned the cold and empty stare. "You killed her," the island boy said in an almost shaky voice. "I'm just returning the favor!"

---

The pistol clanged to the floor. Tears began to prick at the boy's eyes. Almost immediately, his shaky hands had dropped the gun that had killed his mother's murderer. "Mother," Jack whispered to himself as tears streamed down his cheeks, washing away some of the dirt that had gathered there.

With a trembling lip, the boy looked down at the locket. It had dropped to the floor in front of his knees when he grabbed the pistol. He knew that it was expose to be a plundering invasion on the ship; but so far, all of the other pirates were trapped on the deck. Reneger and him had been the only ones to really get below. Picking up the locket, the boy shoved it in one of his pockets before standing to his feet. That was when his eyes caught another glimmer in the dark. The flames had finally penetrated the back regions of the cargo hold, revealing just what proved this ship to be so valuable.

Jack spun around, immediately, his eyes lit up a madness that only a true pirate could understand.

---

"It's no good, we can't get below!" one of the pirates, known as Collin, yelled into the night. Many of the soldiers were dead and those that weren't were severly wounded. Only a few of the pirate's lives had been taken aboard the merchant ship. Now was the time to head back to their own Black Pearl. "Hurry, before the fire catches the Pearl!" Nodding agreement, all of the other pirates ran across the deck and began to leap back onto the Black Pearl.

Captain Barbossa had stayed aboard his own ship, with some of the men, and watched as the fire began to cover the whole deck. Suddenly, the pirates aboard the merchant ship stopped fighting and turned towards the Black Pearl. In only a few moments, most of the men were back on the deck of their own ship. The captain simply waited up near the wheel until all the survivors of the attack were back. Then he ordered the man beside him to steer away from the burning ship. Soon, the wooden wheel was moving with creaks and groans as the Black Pearl came out into the dark sea. It was not long before the flaming boat was no longer a threat, and more of a source of entertainment.

"It's going to burn like that all the way into the night," the captain mumbled to himself. It was just then that the last barrel of gunpowder hit the flames, sending up a large tower of red light into the night. The explosion caused much more wood to fly into the air, and finally sent the boat sinking into the sea. "But I've been wrong before."

All of the men that went on the raid, lined up on the deck. The captain walked over to them, his boots making hard steps. Only when he saw his father, did Hector come out of the cabin. He looked at the many faces that had returned, as the rain began to finally fall again. His young eyes caught the faces of haggard pirates. Their lives torn to pieces and thrown to sea. However, they did not find the pair of deep brown eyes that belonged to his friend.

As the captain walked by his son, he heard a few faint words uttered by the teen. "Jack is not here…" A bit confused, the man stopped in front of his son and leaned towards him. "Who?"

"You know fa- captain, Sparrow. He is not here; I am guessing he did not make it," Hector had learned over the years to hide his feelings. Hiding his sorrow for the loss of his friend was no different. Even though Jack meant a great deal to him, Hector would not dare show a bit of weakness in front of the scurvy men that served his father.

Thinking about what Hector had said, Captain Barbossa scanned the faces of the men that had returned as well. He did not see the innocent face of the island boy. "So he didn't- Horrbis!" Immediately, the wryly man stepped forward. Horrbis' shoulders slumped a bit as he stood there, the rain pouring down on his head.

"Yes sir?"

"Why is Sparrow not amongst those that have returned?"

"I don't-"

"Now, how do you not know if I assigned you to watch him, get him on his feet. I doubt the boy learns so fast in such a short encounter." Now the captain seemed rather annoyed. Not only had his men failed to return with any bounty at all, but he had also lost one of his most valuable crewmen. A young and strong boy, such as Jack, was hard to come by. The other island boy's had obviously been sheltered all their life. '_Never worked a day in their life I reckon.' _Captain Barbossa thought as he stood in front of the men, waiting for Horrbis to reply.

The man finally did, "We got separated." That was all the man said and that was all he got to say. For no sooner had he uttered those words, did the men hear a voice calling over the waves.

At first, none of them was sure if they had heard the voice. All waited in silence, especially Hector. Suddenly, it came again. "Now what is that?" many of the pirates asked themselves. Only Hector reacted. He had heard that voice enough times before to recognize it, even over roaring seas. With brightened eyes, and a large smile, the boy ran pass his father and towards the edge of the railing. "Hector!?" the captain shouted after him. The man watched as his son ran to railing and leaned over it.

"Jack!" Hector suddenly called as his eyes pierced the darkness. All of the other men grew curious and ran over to the railing as well. When the captain finally stood beside his son, he saw it as well. Floating on a burnt and broken door, was indeed the island boy Jack. A small smile of relief was on the teen's face as he waved up at the crewmen and called out them. "Bring 'em aboard!" the captain suddenly called to his men.

---

A rope had been tossed down to the boy. When Jack tied it around his waist, they hulled him up. It took five men to lift the teen aboard the deck. Many of them groaned, "How much do you weigh?" Finally, Jack was able to get his hands on the rail and pull himself over the edge. As his body hit the wooden floor, there was a sound most unnatural for a human's body to make. Hector didn't care for the sound, just for his friend's safety. He immediately went up to Jack and kneeled beside him.

"Don't do that to me Jack."

"I won't," the boy promised as he looked into the relieved eyes of his best friend. Hector smiled and nodded.

Then, with a cocky tone, the boy asked, "So, why are we sounding like plates dropping and weighing as much as a ship itself?" This only brought a mischievous grin upon the island boy's face. His eyes lit up as his hands reached the center of his buttoned coat. Pulling on it, so that the button's popped, Jack opened up the flaps of his coat.

Gold upon gold poured out of the boy's coat and landed on the deck. Necklaces and other jewelry hung from his inside pockets, and Jack quickly emptied his pant pockets as well. Captain Barbossa was one of the many to be standing around the teen and his own eyes gleamed with excitement when he saw the bounty the boy had brought to him.

"Well, it seems yer a natural Sparrow!" the captain almost laughed at the words as he looked down upon the pile. Already, several hands were reaching out to 'admire' the lovely items gathered.

Smiling up at his captain, Jack reached once again into one of his inner pockets, "Why thank-you captain. I even have sometin' special for you." At first, the captain was confused, then Jack suddenly pulled out a rather large gold locket. In the middle of one of the lids was an emerald, carved to perfection.

Captain Barbossa quickly took his gift away from the boy and began to admire the workmenship displayed on the piece of jewelry. Many of the patterns were actually smaller carved patterns hooked together to look like one big one. "Well, you were the only one to bring something back from this 'trip'," Captain Barbossa said as he kept looking at the locket. Many of the crew smiled at what their captain said. This meant he was in a happy mood and that their skins were safe, all thanks to Jack.

As everyone congratulated the boy- no, he was no longer a boy. No longer was Jack's innocence something he could rely on. Jack had truly become one of the pirates; though, he'll never admit it to anyone for as long as the grief of his mother's death plagues his heart. As the years wear on, Jack would recall his first kill many times. Even as his grief lessened, his guilt never did. '_Reneger deserved to pay for what he did. But I had no right to take another's life.' _

Captain Barbossa muted out the happy voice behind him. He even stood in the rain when all the others were seeking shelter. His eyes could not be torn away from one flaw in the greatly detailed locket. It was the latch. Obviously something this valuable would never be deliberately damaged, but the latch kept his attention. It seemed that someone had smashed it shut, making it unable to open. Like someone wanted to protect the memories it held inside.

* * *

A/N: _Okay! Just so everybody does not get confused, Don't EVER listen to my author's notes when I place them as a chapter. Unless, they say that the story will be postponed for certain reasons. Thank-you. _

_For my last Author's note, I was having a really bad week (I'll tell ya why if you want) and someone was rude to me, tipping the scales. So, I felt angry and put up that horrible Author's note. Fortunately, that person (who made me flip) and I have patched things up, so I am back to writing. _

_Let me know what you think of this chapter, okay? If you don't, then I'll hunt you down and make you tell me --_

_Just kidding!_

_But really..._

_Your author,_

_Marlo_


	5. Loosing the Pearl

**Chapter 5: Loosing the Pearl**

Many years his body had taken in the air of the sea. However, each deep intake would still fill his body with pride. A unique one it was, the sea's special scent. Sharp, salty, and filled with sorrow and happiness at the same time. The young man guessed that was what he loved so much about the sea. It could be a haven and crypt at the same time. "Much like a woman," the soft and accented voice spoke.

With his elbows pressing into the worn wood of the railing, and his eyes closed, Jack took in every bit of the sea. From the steady buffeting of waves on the ship's haul, to the slow creaking of the boards in that made up the rocking vessel. The sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky. No clouds were in sight and Jack's face took in the warm ray's with gratitude.

When the man's deep eyes opened once more, they quickly caught the delayed shadow of a bird. Looking up into the afternoon heavens, the trained eyes of the pirate followed the white winged gull over the black shadow of the sails. The bird flew off into the distance, towards land, as its familiar calls dissipated into the azure sea below. Sighing, Jack leaned his back against the rail and watched once more as the sails rippled with a breeze.

---

Four years had passed since the day of his mother's death. Those four years went by miserably slow; and now, looking back on them, Jack realized they went faster than rum on a pirate ship. Unfortunately, the past fours years had not gone by without leaving a mark on the young man, now at the age of seventeen years. Not all scars are found in battle, however.

For Jack, the fours that went by on the Black Pearl, were some of the best in his life. The captain's son, Hector, and he began to spend more time together as friends. The boy's would often play jokes on each other, or practice with swords. These acts usually ended with a scolding from Horrbis (Jack's caretaker and first mate to Captain Barbossa the first). Even after facing the wiry man, the boys would still get in trouble from time to time.

By the time the boy had reached the age of 14, he had already gone on over three dozen raids. Each time had been just about the same as the last, but never as exciting as his first. Nor were any lives taken by his hand after the killing of Reneger. To the captain's dismay, the boy was unable to even pick up a pistol much less shoot it.

Another character trait had changed as well. As the days wore on, after that first raid, Jack no longer carried himself with much pride. Instead, he seemed a bit broken or beaten. Being Jack's best friend, Hector noticed this sooner than anyone else. The captain's son once confronted Jack with this. Unfortunately, he did not get to speak much after greeting the island boy with, "How's it feel to be a true pirate?"

The greeting received a cold stare from the lad and a few angered words. "I will never be a thieving, murdering pirate like the rest of them. Take my advice Hector, don't ever dream to be like your father," then Jack pushed away from the rail he was leaning on and walked away. Leaving Hector speechless and even more confused. After that, the subject of pirates never came up.

---

Of course, as time passed, the captain saw no use for the other boy's he was keeping down below. They were weaker than Jack and less cooperative. They often whined about hunger or begged for more sunlight. It was not long before their skin began to grow pale and their eyes sunken. Once plump arms turned into twigs that seemed ready to snap at anytime. Their ribs pressed roughly against their loose and malnourished skin.

Feeling ashamed of his health, Jack would often ask the captain to allow the boy's to walk the deck or at least keep him self in the room more. Naturally, Captain Barbossa rejected the island teen's pleads. He saw Jack as a valuable member of the crew (despite his unsteady hand with a gun) and would not have him withering away below with those that he had no concern for.

Jack did not care much for the other boys, but Elijah was special. His connection had grown with the boy and the two always spent time together while Jack was down there. Worrying for his companion's health, Jack often snuck parts of his dinner down into the room. There he would secretly feed them to Elijah. Even though this kept the boy alive, Jack felt as if he was feeding a stray his mother had said 'no' to.

Months passed before any of the boys finally saw daylight. Even that day was a horrible one. One of the boys fell ill one night. His stomach wrenched up what it could and when nothing was left, his body gave out. Only leaving a bucket of vomit and blood behind. Immediately, the captain thought of Jack and pulled him out of the room. Instead of placing him with the rest of the crew, he put him in the room that Hector used.

Finally, a week passed after the boy's death and Jack had not seen Elijah at all. Hoping to sneak into the room and visit the young child, Jack woke up early and climbed out of his cot. His feet slipped a bit on the wooden, rocking floors. As the boy headed out into the sun, his eyes squinted to get a better look. Pulling his brown coat over his white shirt, Jack began to move towards the railing. There was a large, brown mass there. Being early, Jack had no clue whether his mind recognized it or not.

It was not until Jack was only a few paces away when he noticed the white sails. "A ship?" he asked himself. Hector was standing nearby and answered his friend's question. "Yes, we caught up to her this morning." Jack turned to see his friend leaning against the door that lead to the cabin. "Father still hasn't told me why we've caught up with this _fine _British vessel." 'Fine' was spoken with a great amount of sarcasm. It was obvious to what ship Hector was loyal to. Even though he didn't realize it yet, Jack was beginning to think the same of the Pearl as Hector did. His home.

Jack decided it was only best to watch what was going to happen, rather than be a part of it. Walking over to one of the empty crates on the deck, Jack hopped up on it to create a small seat. Hector was right behind him and began to swing his legs after sitting on the prickly wood. Then the captain's son suddenly remembered something as his face lit up. Reaching into his pocket, the teen pulled an apple and passed it to Jack.

Crunching away on their 'breakfast' the friends watched with deaf ears and blind eyes as Captain Barbossa began to speak with the other captain (whom had crossed a plank onto the Pearl just a few minutes ago). Their conversation lasted a while. Each face was grim, but gradually growing brighter as if soon coming to an agreement. The British captain seemed doubtful about something as Barbossa tried to persuade him. There were little hand gestures, for it seemed to be a serious matter.

Finally, after what seemed to be forever for the two curious teens, the British captain looked satisfied as he smiled and readily agreed. Captain Barbossa clamped his shoulder with a large grin on his face. Then the features of the pirate grew grim again as he turned away from the British man and looked over at Horrbis, "Bring 'em up!"

The tall, rat nosed, wiry man nodded his sleek head and slinked away to the deck below through the cargo hold. There was a whole lot of clattering and clambering, some cries from young voices, and then finally the jingling of metal. Horrbis' demanding voice rumbled from below and wafted over the two teens as they watched. He seemed angry, as if something had gone wrong.

After a few moments of silence after the thunder of his voice, there was suddenly the sound of heavy chains being dragged on the ground. This definitely caught Jack's attention as he realized that there were also young voices following the dreaded sound. They sounded frightened and as if they had been crying for a long time. Placing what was left of his apple beside him, Jack rose slowly off the crate. His eyes were trained in on the spot where the ramp lead up from the cargo hold.

Horror struck Jack as the thudding continued and Horrbis quickly came out from beneath. Behind him was Elijah. The young boy's hands were bound tightly with rope, his legs were chained, and he nothing on except his binds. Tears poured from the child's face, stripping away the dirt and muck that had come to build up over the few months. His whole body shivered more with fear, than from cold, as he tried to pull his arms up to his chest. Red marks marred the back of the boy's back, where his skin loosely clung to the bone, making Jack realize not even his efforts to help the child did anything.

As his deep eyes watched the shivering and stripped boys come out of the cargo hold, one by one, a sudden feeling of guilt rose within him. 'If only I hadn't been chosen, then someone else could have.' Doubts came from every part of his mind and no persuading would do him any good. The island boy had thrown himself into a dark pit of self-blame, that he would not be pulled out of for a very long time.

What else could he do but shed a few tears for his younger companion. His heart was aching and begging that the boy would find a decent life aboard the British vessel, for that was where he was going. Jack also prayed that Elijah would not look back at him. It would be too much for him to look into the agonized eyes of the child. However, even that small wish was not granted.

Horrbis lead the children, all connected by the rope on their hands, towards the gangplank that would lead to the British ship. His large feet thudded against the wood as he walked past the two friends that were standing and watching the horrible parade. As he did so, the lead child suddenly caught something out of the corner of his eye. Before the whole line of children had passed, Elijah turned back to see the face of his friend.

"Jack!" his voice was weak, but strong enough. Immediately, more tears streamed down the boy's face, his small body pulling against Horrbis. "Jack!" Elijah called once again before he was pulled back by Horrbis. His small body was taken back too hard, for it crashed to the wooden deck, wet with dew. This brought on the stumbling of the other boys, whom said nothing during the whole scene.

Angry with what had happened, Horrbis grabbed Elijah's arm and hefted him up to his feet. Then he took out a small plank of wood and rapped it against the back of the child. Elijah had no more tears left in him, spending the last on happiness that came to him at seeing Jack.

The aching in Jack's heart grew as he looked into the sorrowful, young eyes and saw the tortured soul that refused to leave the child's body. The beating by Horrbis made a great anger grow inside of the teen. Not bothering to consider the consequences of his actions, Jack raced over to Horrbis and reached the plank as it came whistling down once again. Instead, he caught the man's wrist and barely stopped the wood, inches away from the boy's back.

"Enough!" Jack shouted as he pushed back the older man. Horrbis was surprised and a bit angry that such a young boy would defy an elder. However, Jack did not bother himself with Horrbis. His attention was concentrated on Elijah, whom now lay shivering on the deck. His body had simply collapsed from the abuse. Not being able to stand the child's suffering, Jack took off his coat, then his undershirt, leaving him with a bare chest.

Placing the coat over the child's shoulders, Jack tied the sleeves so it would not slip off. "Come on, you need to stand," the young teen spoke softly to the child. Gripping Elijah under one shoulder, then around the waist, Jack helped him to his feet. Then he took the white shirt and wrapped it around Elijah's waist, in order to help him keep warm. The clothes were too big for Elijah, so they provided enough cover to keep him from shivering. "Now, you're gonna have a better life on that British ship. They'll take care of you. Most likely drop you off at an orphanage where you can eat every night. Would you like that?" Elijah nodded weakly as he looked at his older friend. "Okay, you have to go now. I'll try and find you someday, I promise. Take care of yourself kid," Jack took his fist and gently knocked Elijah's chin. This was a gesture that Jack did often with the child.

Giving a small smile to Jack, Elijah then turned to Horrbis and proclaimed, "I'm ready now." Horrbis simply grumbled and lead the children across the gangplank. Jack watched and smiled as he saw two women come out of the cabin and bring the naked children inside. Before entering the cabin, Elijah looked back for just a moment to see his friend smiling at him.

---

So it was, that the years passed and Jack began to enjoy life on the Pearl more and more. At the age of seventeen, he was now coming close to being a high ranking pirate on the Pearl. Even on pirate ships they have ranks, to keep order. Unfortunately for Hector, he never got a chance to rise up in ranks or even be a pirate. His father always seemed over protective of his son. This too made Jack feel bad about rising in the ranks so fast, but then again he felt joy for being able to succeed at something. In fact, his joy at being out at sea soon made him think about the reasons why his father left him and his mother.

The excitement, the sights, the work, all of it would fill a man with plenty of pride. Jack was proud of himself, but not so that he overlooked Hector's yearning to be a part of it. So, came the game of pirates. Whenever Jack was off duty, or Hector wasn't doing anything important, the two would spend sometime together. Jack had found a few practice swords in the cargo hold once. He figured that Hector and him might have some fun once in while playing with them.

Often, the two were seen maneuvering around the ship, slicing the air and clanging swords. Being a bit experienced with one, Hector had the upper hand. However, Jack was a quick learner and soon had the captain's son on his toes.

After beating each other with swords, the two would usually get back to work or just sit. Several times the two friends would climb to the crow's nest and watch the sunset from their. In fact, the captain had been watching his son for a while. A small smile would come onto his face whenever he saw the boy fighting with the sword, or going about the Pearl as if he were a cat. Jack was becoming greatly skilled at moving around the ship as well, since was starting to know her. Finally, one day after watching how much his son loved to be a part of something, Captain Barbossa the first, decided to give Hector his first real job as a pirate.

It was not much, but it was something, and something important. Hector was to take over the crow's nest during the day (Tom, a crewmember, taking the night shift). When this was announced to the boy, his face lit up with pride and joy. Immediately, before his father was done speaking to him, Hector raced up the mast and clambered over into the crow's nest. He popped his head out after stumbling into the wooden hold. Then taking a seat against the mast, he scanned out over the sea.

"A bit eager isn't he?" Jack said while looking up at his eager friend. "Try raising the lad," Barbossa looked up at well before turning away and continuing his job as acting captain.

---

Hector was now eighteen and Jack seventeen. The captain's son had gone through many jobs after getting the lookout posistion at sixteen. However, he still perferred the crow's nest to all the others. Jack would often visit Hector while he was up there. Usually bringing food for them to enjoy. That night was like any other night. Hector was in the crow's nest, Jack was climbing up with some bread, cheese, and a bottle of rum. One hand gripped the ladder, while the other kept hold of the food.

Stopping right below the wooden nest, Jack tossed over the cheese and bread, startling Hector, to Jack's amusement. Then he pushed his body up higher so that his hand could easily reach over the side. "Take the rum, and be careful with it." Jack plainly stated. Hector, in a teasing way, gingerly took the rum as Jack threw his body into the nest. Then, the boy gently placed the bottle onto the burlap sack of food, as if it were a resting child. "That's a good boy. You know that rum is precious." Jack sarcastic remark made Hector snort in a joking manner.

"Fine then, if you don't want any…?" Jack popped the top of the bottle and began to slug it down. Knowing how much his friend loved the beverage, Hector grabbed the bottle and took a swig for himself. If he had let the teen to continue, the whole bottle would have disappeared before he could say 'God Save the Queen'.

Bringing his knee up to his chest, Hector rested his arm on it while his hand still held the rum. The night was calm and there were no clouds as the moon and stars shown down upon the ship. The sea around them turned into liquid silver, gently moving this way or that. Only one place disturbed the moon's light, and that was from the cabin where the captain was up eating. Golden squares danced upon the deck and the voices of the crew below could be heard. Some were left to work, others were in their quarters eating. Although, it would have been better to eat on the deck, considering the filthy state the pirates were in.

Sighing, Jack took out the bread and broke it in half. He handed one end to Hector as he bit into the other. The captain's son took the half of bread and began eating as well, only not as greedily as Jack was. Then the two of them took off pieces of the cheese and had a couple swigs of rum. Hector saw that the bottle was half empty and decided that was enough. Especially for his friend, since most of the rum had gone into his stomach.

"Honestly Jack, you're gonna kill yourself if you keep drinking the way you do."

"I've lived a good, long life…" Jack's voice was wavering a bit, but Hector did not worry that much. He knew it took a great deal of drink to get jack acting like a drunk. "You're only seventeen," Hector spoke plainly as he shook his head and placed the rum beside him. Then the two friends sat in silence and watched as the night sky went on. The waves provided a soothing sound that calmed their minds. The voices of the crew below soon were muffled as darkness itself enveloped the boys' vision.

---

"Hector! Jack!" the voice traveled up the mast but stopped halfway. The wind was growing and simply yelling would not be enough. Growing frustrated, the young man grabbed hold of the ladder leading up to the crow's nest. He was grumbling and cursing all the way up. "Jack, if you're drunk again…" the man threatingly growled as he reached the crow's nest. However, Horrbis did not have to climb into the nest as a loud roll of thunder came crashing down on the ship.

Light poured into his eyes, along with wind and rain. His mind was instantly cleared as his senses were going off. Jumping out of his spot, the teen found himself standing in the crow's nest. His head, once whizzing, was now clear and calm. "How long have I been asleep," he asked himself, placing a hand on his head. However, he did not have time to consider this. Long, nail like fingers grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him close to the edge of the crow's nest. A rat nose and lean face looked back at him.

"You TWO are in trouble! Now get your asses down here before we loose 'er!" Horrbis let go of Jack and quickly moved down the ladder. In a matter of seconds, he was standing on the deck, many feet below. Hector didn't wait for Jack to go next, as his body slipped over the side and clambered down to the rocking deck. The Pearl was caught in a storm and being pelted by rain and waves. She was dangerously rocking back and forth, causing Jack to stumble and loose his balance.

Falling down and hitting the mast, Jack's hand gripped onto the side of the crow's nest to try and pull himself up. Unfortunately, the rain was heavy, making the wood slip. His fingers let go as soon as another wave crashed into the Pearl's side. Jack's body slammed up against the side of the crow's nest. There was an unsatisfying crack. Jack checked his body and was not reassured when he saw that it was the wood that had cracked.

Pushing him self away from the side of the nest, Jack finally grabbed hold of the side and managed to flip his body over the side. Gripping the slippery ladder with both arms, Jack soon realized he would have to use one. His right arm was too sore for him to hold onto anything. "Damn," the teen cursed as he slowly made his way to the others below him.

There was no chaos at all on the deck. The pirates had been in storms before and knew how to handle them. Once Jack hit the wooden floor boards, he was rushed by Horrbis whom handed him a bucket. Jack saw the reason for the bucket as the sea raged and spilled water onto the ship.

The waves were rising and growing more ferocious. If they didn't get away soon, then the ship would be overtaken by the sea and all of the crew would be sent to a watery Hell to meet Davy Jones. Immediately knowing his place, Jack began to bucket out the water. It would help the crew walk faster on the deck. Six other men were contributing to the effort, but it was futile.

Jack had lost sight of Hector, but did not worry about it for the moment. His job was to save the ship and that he would do. However, what he and no other man could understand, was the wrath of the sea. She was fierce and unforgiving. Especially to those who marred her face with death and theivery.

He never knew why he suddenly stopped bucketing. But he did. His mind was telling him to beware of something, Jack just couldn't figure out what. Panting from the effort, and drenched from the rain, Jack took a moment to catch his breath. Then for some reason, he glanced over at the Pearl's port side. His deep eyes were caught on the sight of something terrible, something that would mar his mind as long as he lived.

Slowly turning his body to face the terror approaching, Jack thought he never would have felt it again. Fear. Complete and utter fear. He had felt it once before, that was when his mother was grabbed by the men back on the island. He knew she was going to die at that moment, and yet he doubted himself and his thoughts. Jack now, had no doubts what was about to happen, and he could only pray that the fear in him would leave as soon as death claimed his soul.

Darker than the deepest depths, and more sinister than the devil himself. The wave was a thousand black horses, coming to claim the souls of all those aboard the Black Pearl. Her thundering height and shear power were incredible as she sped up. A wall of water, intent on sending more to their watery graves. To make certain lives were going to be claimed, she came crashing in on the Black Pearl with all her might. It happened so quickly, and yet Jack could recall every detail with outstanding accuracy. For him, it was carved into his mind.

Water rushed over the side of the deck as the force of the wave hitting tipped the Pearl. The dark sea came itself to take them away, for all of their sins. The water pouring over quickly made its way down the deck as the ship tipped. Taking away anything that it could, the wave's water soon became a wall of debris. The wall was heading straight for Jack, but he couldn't move. His bucket wouldn't even fall from his hand, his fear was so great. The cracking and breaking of the wood reached Jack's ears as he realized that would soon be his bones.

Just before the water hit, another force took hold of Jack and pulled him away from the edge and towards where the water was weaker. Unfortunately, the ship was tipping and the person whom had grabbed the teen was now pressed up against the rail along with Jack. One thing did go right, they were near the mast where the water parted and became weaker before joining again. Even though it was hard on them, the two beings held out and kept their bodies from flying over the railing.

It was over quickly, but it seemed to take forever. Finally, the last of the water went past and back into the sea as the Pearl bounced back to float up right. Still rocking a bit, but she was fine. The storm was slowly calming. Panting from the rush, Jack pulled his body away from the rail and looked up at his savior. It was hector, whom seemed equally tired. "Thank… you." Jack managed to get out. The captain's son was still leaning against the railing. He nodded and let out a large breath. The moon was no longer shining, from the storm clouds, but Jack knew there was a smile on the teen's face.

However, it was not over. The Pearl suddenly jerked to one side as her port side began to sink, and fast. A large whole had been busted into the side from the impact with the wave. As she suddenly tipped to one side, the lifeboats came flying and only their lines stopped them from flying off towards the sea. However, from the sudden stopping, the lines let loose and sent the boats off into the water. There, they were easily crushed from the rough waves.

The Pearl was tilting too fast for the teens as their bodies began to slide down the deck. "Grab hold of something!" Hector shouted through the wind and rain. Jack had little time to do anything, since they were sliding faster than the Pearl was sinking. Then Jack's body hit something and hit it hard. His body crumbled agianst the wooden mast. His legs hurt from the collision and he guessed his ankle had been twisted. However, that was not his concern at the moment. Even though he had stopped, Hector hadn't and the ship was still sinking.

Positioning himself to be on the side of the mast, Jack took hold of the ground around him. The Pearl was at a deadly angle now and the mast would soon break. Pushing off from the wood, Jack slid across the deck. His body quickly catching up with Hector, whom was trying to grab hold of the steps outside the cabin. Fortunately, the boy took hold of one of the steps.

Jack reached out to him as his body passed by. Hector grabbed Jack's arm just in time. Holding onto it tightly, Hector slowly pulled Jack up to the steps. Once Jack had hooked his arm onto the step, Hector let go and gripped with both his arms.

Both of them were afraid of death, but they wee more determined to survive. Now the only thing left to do was to find a way off the ship before she sank and took the boys with her. "What now?" Jack shouted. "I don't know!" Hector called back over the wind. Their grips were weakening as were their bodies. They could feel their fingers growing numb and their limbs going out. The rain pelted their faces and kept them from thinking clear. Jack was just about ready to let go…

Suddenly, a dark form appeared above the boys. It was gripping the steps as well, but was on top of them and had better balance. Both of them looked up at the person and hoped it was their savior. Lighting streaked across the sky, ribboning its way from hell to heaven. Its light showed the red hair and purple coat of the captain as he looked down upon the boys.

"Father!" Hector called. Barbossa looked over at the boy, then turned back to Jack. "Take my hand Jack!" the captain called out over the wind. Jack could see the fingers of the man piercing the night and suddenly felt anger rise inside him. "Come on Jack, I'll pull you up!" A burning rage entered Jack as he realized that the captain was choosing him over his own son. Hector, holding on next to him, was suddenly coming to a realization as well. The captain cared more for Jack than he did for Hector, his own flesh and blood. However, Hector did not blame Jack for this, only his father. "Jack!" the man called once more in a desperate tone.

"Hector!" Jack called out to his friend, then quickly glanced a few feet below them. "Let go!" "What?!" he called back. Jack shouted his order once more, "Let GO!" Just as he finished saying this, Jack let go of the steps. As a reaction to Jack's movements, Hector let go as well. The captain just kneeled there on the steps, looking down as the boys' bodies crashed against the open door to his cabin. He felt no regret in choosing Jack over Hector. However, he valued his own life over any other.

The impact of the boys caused the door to suddenly break away from its hinges. Both jack and Hector landed on their stomachs. Now they raced down the deck on the piece of wood, rain and water splashing in on either side. However, the ride was soon over as the door crashed into the rail. It flipped upward and sent the boys flying out into the sea.

* * *

**A/N: **i know ribboning isn't a word, but you get the idea. Anyway, I'll be posting updates for this story sooner than I thought. The next chapter is pretty cool, I've already started it. Expect frequent updates from now on. I hope never to put another A/N as chapter for this story. sorry it took so long, and for those whom have hung on through this whole thing and have put up with my antics, thank-you. I look forward to reviews! 


	6. Stranded

**

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update. I had writer's block and it was really frustrating. I hope this chapter makes up for the lost time. Plz leave a review so I'll update sooner than before. I'm already working on the next chapter and I hope you like whom I introduce.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Stranded

'What's this crushing feeling? Why can't I breathe; why won't I breathe?' His body felt as if it were getting tossed around. Something was placing pressure on his head and his lungs refused to take in air. Every time he opened his mouth to engulf the darkness, his body would reject it and cause the boy to close his cold, blue lips again. His lungs were burning and praying for air, his ears were going crazy with the rushing sound. Something hit him hard in the chest as his hands gripped out in the darkness. Everything felt different than usual.

'Liquid?' Jack thought. Yes, it was liquid! That could only mean one thing: Jack had been tossed into the sea. The storm was still raging above as the undercurrent rolled the teen around below. However, Jack was slowly coming to his senses as he began to kick his legs. Then gripping with his arms, Jack pushed back the water and soon came to just below the surface. In a final ditch effort, Jack pushed back his arms and kicked as hard as he could.

Jack never thought he would enjoy breathing so much. His lungs quickly filled with air, moist, salty, refreshing air. Air for him to live off of. His lungs burned, but gradually began to feel better. Jack took several deep breaths before he began to tread in the water.

With weary eyes, the young man looked over the ocean surface. He couldn't see the Pearl any more. She had finally sunken to the depths of Davy Jones' locker. He also couldn't see Hector anywhere. "Hec-" Jack's voice cracked and was cut off. The young man had swallowed too much salt. His throat was dry and his voice scratchy.

Ruling out yelling for his friend, Jack just continued to tread water. He turned in every direction, looking for some clue of Hector's whereabouts. Nothing. A deep worry was beginning to build up inside of Jack. Hector Barbossa was the only true friend that Jack had. If he had lost the other boy… That was nothing to think about. Right now, he needed to stay alive.

Jack's body was already tired when he jumped onto the door, now it was growing weak and he would not be able to swim soon. The seas were slowly calming and the storm was being flushed away by the dawning sun. As golden rays struck the water, the young man began looking for something to hold onto.

With morning there came light, and with light there came visibility. Jack was able to see the debris from the Pearl easier. Planks and splinters floated here and there. Barrels bobbed up and down while small pieces of furniture rocked back and forth. The barrels were a ways away and would be far too tricky to hold onto. The furniture was soaked and old, meaning that it would fall apart; even the planks were unusable. Being splintered and way too small.

Then, something caught the young man's eye. A shadow in the water; larger, darker, and deeper than the other shadows. Jack swam a bit closer. The shadow was not far off and it was gradually becoming larger. This meant that whatever had created the distortion was rising from the depths. Suddenly realizing what was coming, Jack swam harder than before.

Just as the item broke surface, wet and slippery hands gripped onto its side. Fingers desperately searched for a holding as the wood was wet and quickly slipping away from them. Swimming closer, Jack was able to reach out and take hold of the handle protruding from the side of the door.

As his fingers wrapped around the curved gold, Jack began to pull himself from the calming sea. The door immediately began to tip due to the added weight. Not wanting to be pushed back under the surface, the young man let go of the door. There was a small splash and a bit of a wave when the door fell onto the surface of the water. Jack clung onto the edge, no longer trying to pull himself up onto the wooden door.

Gripping the handle, the young man rested his head on the door. Water that came over the bobbing object, splashed gently against Jack's face. He was weak from all the excitement and swimming. His limbs were sore and his legs would hardly move beneath the water. It was no surprise to him when his eyes slowly began to close and the world around him started to get dark.

---

"Jack… Jack…" the voice seemed to be traveling through water. It was distorted and echoed into his hollow mind. "Jack…" again it came to him, producing a light. But a very small light it was, for around him there was nothing but a pitch darkness. Then, a soft touch that was both physical and mental. "Jack, you must wake up."

He heard the words, but didn't understand them completely. They had an odd sound to them, as if someone was choking back emotions. "Jack, please," this time, the voice sounded filled with tears and pleading to the young man to live. Slowly, the light grew larger in his mind. Then, another sound entered the man's dream world. It came with a heavy breeze through the dark. To the young man, it sounded like soft sobs.

The sobs created such a feeling of sorrow and guilt inside the young man, that he wanted whomever was crying to stop. Realizing the noise was coming from the light, the young man did not hesitate to reach for it. However, it was far away by then and slipping from his grip. Not wanting to loose the warm feeling it gave him and not wanting to leave the crying person alone, Jack summoned all of his energy. With one burst, Jack reached just far enough to jump through the light and enter the world of the living before the darkness could pull him away again.

---

Blinking several times, Jack was temporarily blinded as the light flooded back into his mind. Groaning softly, the young man soon realized how sore his body was and the fast coming headache. Not being fully awake, Jack was not able to figure out where he was. Groaning again, he slowly turned his head. What he saw sent both relief and sorrow into his heart.

Before the young man had fallen into the pits of unconsciousness he remembered seeing and feeling the cold water of the sea brushing against his skin. The waters had surrounded his body and were slowly chilling his heart. Now, his cheek pressed up against wet, but warm, sand. Meanwhile, soft waves batted at his feet playfully. The sun shown down upon Jack and began to warm his clammy skin.

Jack soon became aware of each and every part of his body. His fingers twitched, then flexed themselves; no longer where the boots on his feet, allowing his toes to freely wiggle as the breeze cooled them. Making a few faces, Jack began to sit up. He moved his stiff arms underneath him and pushed up with his elbows. This caused the young man to soon realize that his back was stiffer than the rest of him. A dull pain surged through him and Jack flopped back onto the sand.

Letting a rather large sigh escape, Jack settled with looking up at the clear blue sky. It had been completely different from before. Its blue beauty had been washed away by hellish gray waves. Demons of the water had twisted and turned in excitement when the moonlight was extinguished. They had found their prey and did not hesitate to attack the Black Pearl. Another sigh came from the young man as he remembered abandoning the Pearl.

Tears began to emerge in his eyes, when Jack remembered the sobs in his dreams. It suddenly occurred to him that he could not have gotten onto the beach without help. Almost gasping, Jack quickly turned his head to left again, nothing but sand. Then he looked at his right. Two eyes stared back, red and glossy from the tears. "Hector…" Jack whispered in a raspy voice. "Jack," was the boy's reply.

The young pirate's legs were huddled up to his chest and his head rested on folded arms. He was more drenched than Jack had been, seaweed still tangled in his red hair. Hector's white shirt was torn and his pants were half the length they use to be. Like Jack, his boots had been taken off of him.

Jack couldn't help but give a small smile. Hector saw the smile and simply scowled at the young man. "I told you not to do that to me! When I saw you in the water… hanging onto that door…" Hector moved forward, his palms pressing into the sand. "I'd thought I'd lost you." the young man's voice was but a whisper this time. "You're my best friend Jack," Hector again fell away from Jack and hugged his knees to his chest.

It was like when they were just young teens. Hector worried about Jack all the time, especially since Jack had been through so much. Every time Jack would fall or hurt himself in some way, Hector was there to look after him. The two had spent so much time together, it was almost like having a brother. That's why, Jack had smiled.

Reaching out with his shaky arm, Jack managed to reach Hector's hand. A softer smile found its way onto the young man's face. Looking into his friend's saddened eyes, Jack simply said, "Thank-you." Hector smiled back and gripped Jack's upper arm near the elbow. Helping the young man to sit up, the young pirate replied. "No problem, you know how it is." Their bond was strong and would not be broken easily.

---

The fire snapped, crackled, and popped as the flames engulfed the branches. Fortunately, the boys had been washed up on an island with a lush green forest. As Jack's legs had begun to recover, the two friends had entered the jungle to collect fire wood. However, they made sure to keep near the beach, which was the safest place on at that time. Birds squawked and monkeys chattered in the jungle forest. There was probably something that fed off of those animals.

At first it was easy collecting the kindling. Fallen branches and old plants that created the underbrush were taken. Still, kindling would not get them through the night. Plus, they needed the strong branches of the trees to create a shelter. Might as well grab firewood while they were at it.

Because Jack had been weakened more from their previous adventure, Hector told him to keep collecting the twigs and plants. Meanwhile, the young pirate would be chopping away at the trees. "With what?" Jack had asked, pointing out that they held no weapons. Hector simply chuckled, which confused his friend, and reached into his shirt pocket. When his hand came out of the tethered cloth, there was a rather large knife held in it.

Suddenly, Jack's eyes grew wide, for he recognized the knife. "Hey, that's mine!" Even though both were nearly 18 years of age, one could mistake them for children. Lunging forward, Jack dropped all the kindling. His hands reached out for the knife that he use to carry in his belt. The pirate got the best of the sailor, for his reflexes were faster, as he quickly pulled the knife out of grasp. This sent Jack to the jungle floor, where he met lush leaves and a rather wet ground.

No longer chuckling, Hector broke out in laughter. He held the knife in one had and swung in front of Jack as the young man turned onto his back and looked up at the pirate. "You want it back?!" Hector teased. Scowling at first, Jack suddenly relaxed and began to laugh as well. "Here, let me help you up." The red head reached down to Jack and helped him onto his feet.

"Well, I'll get this to the beach," Jack said only one thing before he collected the fallen kindling and began to walk away. While Jack bent down to get the kindling, Hector had already began to climb a nearby tree. For many hours, all that could be heard was the cursing and swearing of the young pirate as he tried to collect the branches.

By the time the fire was started and a rough shelter built, it was night again and the stars had come out. Oddly, neither of the boys felt unsure about sleeping. Both of them quickly dropped into dreams after placing the extra wood on the fire. Jack was the first to drift off. His weary eyes stared up at the branches that acted as a roof, the ocean's waves against the beach were soothing. The night animals had begun to sing to each other and call into the darkness. Feeling no threat at all, Jack fell away from the conscious world.

---

Note: B/c Jack refuses to be called a pirate, Hector began to call him a sailor

---

For the next ten days the boys lived off the edge of the forest. Never going more than fifty feet in, the two friends found fruit trees to live off of. Mangos and cocoanuts were in a great abundance on he island. Many of the different birds and monkeys had eaten many of the fruit. However, after a day or two, the animals stopped coming around because of the smell of humans. This left a surplus of food for Hector and Jack.

Water did not prove to be an obstacle either. A small stream was near by. Jack and Hector collected water in cocoanut shells. Because they had to use the shells, the boys only cut off a small portion of the top of the cocoanut, making sure it was big enough to pull the meat out. On the third day, Hector came up with an idea.

"Jack, we don't know how long we'll be on this island." The two were once again visiting the stream. Jack was in the middle of taking a drink when Hector spoke. "Yeah?" Jack asked, knowing that the young man was coming up with something. "Well, however long we are here, we're going to have to bring water from the stream, which is a twenty minute walk."

Standing up beside his friend, the dark haired man simply shrugged. "So?" Jack began to walk back towards the beach. Hector moved to catch up with him, then slowed down to his friend's pace. "Never mind, I'll tell 'ya back at the camp." Shrugging once again, Jack let it go as he held three cocoanuts in his arms.

When they got back to the beach, Hector took one of Jack's cocoa nuts and ran towards the shelter. Jack was surprised but quickly gave chase. Hector had already collected his share of water and Jack thought the boy was trying to take one of his as well. "Was this your idea!" the sailor cried after his friend, suddenly dropping his other two cocoanuts. "Oh know! Now I'll have to go back," Jack stopped chasing his friend and looked down at the wet sand before him. The cocoanuts lay on their sides, still drops of water dripping out of them.

Anger welled up inside the young man. Clenching his fist, Jack looked up at Hector. Ready to yell, Jack suddenly found him self speechless and confused. His friend had slammed the cocoanut into ground, digging it deeper by scraping it on the sand. "What the hell are you doing?" Jack asked as he moved towards the pirate.

"Take all the excess shells and do the same. When a storm comes, they will fill with water and we won't have to go to stream for a few days. When we get enough cocoanuts, we won't have to rely on the stream every single day." The sudden reasons for Hector's actions hit Jack like a brick wall. However, this wall wasn't hard but rather funny looking.

Trying to control himself, Jack held a hand over his mouth, small snorts escaping as the laughter slowly came. "Laugh all you want, but it'll work." At these words, Jack let loose all the laughter. He cracked up so much that his sides began to hurt. Falling to the sand, the young man only laughed even more. One of them was obviously going crazy, but seeing how they had spent only a couple of days on the island, Jack knew it was Hector.

Ignoring his friend's ridiculing, Hector began to place all the cocoanut shells into the ground. He was certain that it would work, and when it did… Holding the cocoanut he was about to set in place, Hector sighed. If the it didn't work, and it didn't rain for some time, Jack would have a hay day teasing his friend.

---

A slender hand reached into the rain and gripped onto the side of one of the cocoanuts. Water streamed down the skin and into the cocoanut that was already half full. Pulling the object out of the sand, the hand brought the cocoanut up to two lips that were ready for a drink. However, before a sip was taken, the mouth smirked and calmly spoke, "Told ya."

"Whatever!"

---

It was the tenth day that everything began to go wrong for the two friends. On the tenth day, they're friendship was tested in a most cruel way.

The tenth day began like the past nine. The sun rose, causing the sea to turn orange and the sand to begin to heat up. In a matter of hours, the beach would almost be burning. However, for the time being, it was peaceful and cool. And just like usual, Hector was the first one up. He watched the sunrise each day, waiting for Jack to wake up. And just like every morning, the young pirate would check the water supply and the food supply. Today, the two of them would have to travel into the jungle for more fruit.

An hour passed and the peaceful orange had disappeared. Instead, a soft yellow took over the world, dulling the colors. It wasn't fully morning, nor was it dawn. Jack began to stir from sleep. His arms and legs stretched as his eyes blinked opened. "Oh, sorry," Jack said as he realized that one of his fist had knocked on the head of a very grumpy Hector. Sighing, the pirate stood out of the shelter and walked onto the beach. "I said sorry," Jack said, scrambling to get out of the shelter himself.

For the next few hours, the boys refilled the cocoanuts that had been drained by them, the sun, or one of the animals. Jack kicked sand over the fire, to make sure it was fully out. The young man missed having his boots and hoped that Hector and he would find a way off the island soon.

When all the morning chore were done, including those few private things, Hector called Jack over to the right side of their stick shelter. That was where the food supply was held. "What is it?" the young man asked upon arriving. Hector pointed down at the few cocoanuts and mangos that were left in the sand. "We had a monkey raid last night. We'll have to go gather more fruit."

"Alright, but the trees are nearly bare. We should start rationing what we have before the trees run out." Jack kept his eyes on the spot where most their food use to be. He hoped that Hector would just agree with him and then they would go get more.

Instead, the young pirate shook his head 'no' and placed his hands on his hips. "No, we need to go deeper into the jungle after collecting what we have. If one of us stands as far away from the beach as possible, then the other shouldn't get lost while collecting the food." When Hector finished, he looked into the lush forest. The trees were close together and foliage was thick. Everything was green or dark green. It would be hard not to get lost, but they could do it.

However, Jack had a large uneasy feeling in him. "No, Hector, I think we should stick to our usual trees-"

"The fruit on those trees is either too old or too young! We must venture into the jungle. Now if you think it is too dangerous-"

"Are you calling me a coward!?" Just like Hector had cut Jack off, he did the same. "No," Hector quickly said, realizing that this was the first time Jack had misunderstood something he had said. "I wasn't saying that at all. I just thought that I couldn't make you do anything you didn't want to do." The young man had turned away from him with his arms crossed. Hector moved up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Jack." Hector knew that Jack was a bit stubborn, so he was a bit surprised when the young man turned around simply smiled at him.

"I know you didn't mean it. I guess I'm kind of missing civilization. I wish that a town or something was on this island." Jack moved away from Hector and looked into the jungle. There was a very small chance that they wouldn't get lost. However, it was that small chance that Hector had been reaching at. 'He's always helping me and doing things he doesn't want to. Maybe I should return the favor.' Turning back to Hector, Jack gave a beaten sigh. "Maybe we should go a bit deeper into the jungle…"

Hector brightened up once Jack spoke those words. Not bothering say thank-you, the red strode by his friend and into the thick jungle. His eyes were gleaming with pride and curiosity. Yet, there was a wide smile on his face, that had bothered Jack. Ever since the third day and Hector's triumph with the water situation, he had suddenly assumed command. At first, Jack didn't mind. He thought that it was just to get on his nerves or to tease him about doubting Hector. However, after a few days, Jack was getting sick of the attitude.

Letting out another sigh, the young man looked at the jungle. He had to admit, the thought of exploring the thick forest was allowing anticipation to rise within the him. He let a smile slide across his face as he too trudged into the jungle, not realizing that yet another chapter of his life was about to begin.

---

"Okay, I think we've gone far enough Hector," Jack ducked just in time to miss a swinging branch that Hector had let loose. The two boys had been walking for a solid two hours, leaving Jack with only a faint idea in which direction the beach was located. "We should turn back." Jack cautiously stated. He noticed that ever since he started to complain about how far in they were, and since the search for a fruit tree was unsuccessful, that Hector was beginning to get a bit edgy. "Hector-"

The young pirate turned around suddenly, almost causing his friend to bump into him. There was a great annoyance in Hector's eyes, but no anger. Frustration came easily to the pirate and he didn't mind taking it out on others. Since Jack was the only person there, and causing his frustration, it was only natural to let everything out on him. "Jack, if you have a problem with which way I'm going, then go back! But until I find us some more food, I'm not returning to the camp." With a fast nod at Jack, the young man turned around and resumed his march through the jungle.

Now anger rose up in Jack. Hector refused to listen to his reasons for being so troublesome. The young man felt nervous in the forest and desired to go back. He sensed that something was about to go wrong. If Hector felt the same feeling of discomfort, he was obviously ignoring it.

Jack took in another breath and decided to try again. It would be the fifth time since they left camp. Hopefully, the young man would receive a different reaction. "Hector-" unfortunately, Jack didn't get past the boy's name. Hector stopped once again and turned aggressively towards Jack. "Jack!-I don't want to hear it! I'm sick of your complaining. Now just go back to the camp. I'll find my way on my own!"

Instead of backing down like last time, Jack clenched his fist and shoved his face in Hector's. This time, his anger was greater than before. "That's the problem! I don't know where the camp is! You've gone so far in, I've lost sight of the beach and have no idea what direction it is in. If you had just listened to me once, this wouldn't have happened. But no!-you were too busy playing captain to even notice that something was bothering me!" Hector was speechless, he had no idea that Jack had grown so angry.

"Jack, I'm sorry-"

"Forget it!" The young man threw his arms up in the air. "I'm going back; just like you wanted." He said the last few words in a grumble. Hector only watched as his friend lowered his head and anger and began storming through the jungle. He wasn't sure if Jack actually knew which way the camp was, but by the way he was walking, it seemed that way. "Trying to make me feel bad after all!" Hector hissed before turning and continuing his search for food.

---

'Just keep walking. Don't look back. He wants you to look back.' Jack thought to himself, forcing his head forward and his feet to move through the brush. "Maybe I should go back… No, he'll only yell at me more," the young man shook his head and continued on his way. However, the urge to go back to Hector was increasing with each step. The feeling of dismay still wouldn't leave Jack, and this worried him. If something happened to Hector… "I've got to go back to him!" Jack lifted his head and turned around. Staring into the thick jungle for only a moment, the sailor dug his feet into the ground and launched him self through the foliage. Even Jack's pride would not keep him away from his best friend.

---

While Jack was making up his mind to return, another was fighting himself and his instincts. "I don't need Jack. I've done everything for him and he has done nothing for me. I can take care of myself. Hmph, 'I don't know where the camp is!' What kind of an idiot does he take me for?" Angrily murmuring to him self, Hector walked through the brush. However, there was a side of him that argued for Jack. "Still, he seemed rather uncomfortable. I wonder if anything else is bothering him," closing his eyes and shaking his back and forth, Hector tried to get rid of the idea. "Forget it. 'Playing captain', what's that 'spose to mean?!"

Hector made his way through the jungle, blinded with rage, regret and confusion. His feet walked over the soft ground, not bothering to see where they were going. Meanwhile, all his eyes saw was Jack's angry face while his ears were filled with the sailor's anger voice. 'One fight, that's all it was. It won't hurt our friendship, will it?'

Just as Hector thought this, his feet suddenly found no ground underneath him. He was falling backwards and the lush green forest turned into a green-golden canopy above. Spots of the blue sky shone through. Then, a bang to the head and his body began sliding down a steep slope on muddy plants.

Not being able to control his limbs, arms and legs flailed out on either side of him, reaching out for everything and anything. Unfortunately, the ground this far in held moisture easier than the other areas. The thick canopy above kept out most of the sun and the plants had grown and learned to conserve the water. Therefore, most of it went into the soil, creating a dangerous slide.

Hector straightened his legs, trying to gain control. This sped him up a bit, causing him to loose even more control. Everything happened in a matter of seconds and half way down the slope, Hector's feet crashed into something hard and large.

Because of his straight legs, when the young pirate hit, his body was sent sprawling over the rock and rolling down the rest of the slope which was littered with stumps and prickly plants. Soon, everything gave way to a rather open pathway, created by water. The pirate landed in the muddy water face first. His arms immediately sank into the mud, causing a suction sound to come from the man's efforts to rise from the water.

Moaning from the pain in his head, Hector looked around the swamp he had landed in. It was dark and dim. Everything seemed alive as frogs croaked and crickets sang. Fireflies buzzed around the man, their flashing lights slowly becoming dim. "Great," Hector grumbled as he rose to his knees. "Things can certainly get worse, I just hope they don't." As if fate decided it, a sound of bubbles and shifting water came from behind the pirate.

---

Where was Hector? Jack couldn't see him even as he approached the spot where they had fought. From there on, the grass and plants were broken from Hector storming around. "Hector!" Jack called out into the jungle, hoping his friend had not gotten too far. No reply came and Jack only saw the path of damaged plants go on. Sighing, the young man decided to follow, praying that nothing had happened to his friend.

The greens and browns raced past Jack as he ran through the forest. His eyes never left the path left by his angered friend. The feeling of foreboding never left either. In fact, once the sailor realized he still had the bad sensation, his steps became quicker and his heart beat faster in apprehension.

It was not long before Jack thought he heard something. Thinking it could be Hector and hoping it was, Jack sped up rather carelessly. Not watching where he was going and only concentrating on the whereabouts of his friend, Jack leapt into the air to try and clear some of the brush. Unfortunately, he did not see that Hector's path no longer went across, but down.

---

The croc wasn't all that big, but that didn't mean he wasn't strong. Besides, seeing a set of teeth like this one had would give anyone a reason to fight. However, Hector had one big disadvantage: his leg was broken and he couldn't move from his spot.

Turning to face the fearsome creature, Hector quickly grabbed a branch from the ground. Once the pirate tried to move, a searing pain shot up his leg and into his entire body. There was no way he could freely move to fight the lizard. Taking in a deep breath, Hector gave one push from his good leg and temporarily found himself on both legs standing up. However, this was but a split moment as his body made the water splash when it fell back down.

The movement stunned the croc a bit, causing it to hesitate in attack. Nevertheless, once Hector looked helpless again, it lunged at the young man. Defending himself, Hector swung the stick at the croc, hitting the side of its head hard. Unfortunately, the croc had a thick hide. The blow only confused the creature and broke the man's stick.

Growling as much as a lizard could, the croc slowly turned back to the pirate. Opening its mouth, it quickly moved through the water and came upon the panting boy. Hector only saw the croc's mouth open wide and all the teeth inside, before he shut his eyes: not wanting to see his own death.

When no pain or blood came, Hector listened. His world was black, but that was because he had his eyes shut. There was a thrashing sound in the water which caught the man's attention. Slowly opening his eyes, the young pirate looked towards his opponent. Suddenly, a smile of shock and relief burst forth on the man's face. "Jack!"

It was indeed the young sailor whom had come to save his friend. However, Jack did not realize this at the moment. All he was concerned about was keeping his butt pressed to the ground. As for the thrashing, it was the croc whom was pinned underneath the sparrow. Its air was quickly running out and its pride was vanishing. Never before, had a creature opposed its power.

Finally, the croc gave up and stopped thrashing around. The weight on its snout lifted, allowing the creature to escape. And escape he did. Not wanting to face the one whom had almost killed him, the croc turned around rather quickly and swam like there was no tomorrow.

---

Only looking at the retreating croc for a moment, Jack quickly turned to his friend. "Hector!" the young pirate was sitting in the water with his legs collapsed to one side. One hand held onto the man's left leg and he was panting from the pain. However, a small smile was placed on his face as he looked up at his friend. "Are you okay," Jack walked through the ankle-high water over to his friend.

Bending down beside the pirate, the sailor began to look over Hector. "It's just a broken leg Jack, I'll be okay."

"No, you won't. If you haven't noticed, we are stuck in a swamp full of snakes and crocs. With your broken leg it'll be impossible to climb back up the slope," Jack sighed and sat back in the water. Hector also had a few scratches on him, these could lead to infection which was the last thing the men needed. "I guess I'll have to carry you." Jack stated plainly.

Hector looked up at his friend in shock. Jack was strong, but he too had experienced a tumble down the slope. Hector did not know if Jack was injured from the fall, but he knew that the man was not completely unscathed. Besides, Jack couldn't carry him all the way back up to the camp, "Jack, you can't. It would be impossible and…" Hector trailed off in the middle of his statement as his eyes looked past Jack and on the river. They seemed to have seen a ghost.

"Hector? Hello… Hector?" Jack waved his hand in front of his friend, whom seemed to be in a trance. Wondering what had caught the attention of the pirate, Jack looked behind him onto the river. There, just bobbing in the shallow water, was a wooden vessel carrying a dark maiden.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry I was out for so long. I had to take a trip to New York and wasn't able to have much free time to write my strories. But I'm back and much more motivated. I hope you all liked this chapter and will patiently wait for the next one. I'll try to get it up as soon as possible. All reviews will be received with gratitude and all signed reviews will be answered. plz review!

Love ya!

Marlo


End file.
